Prepaying Mortgage Interest at the End of a Tax Year Doesn't Bring Immediate Tax Breaks

For all those in the throes of doing their taxes I thought I would pass along a little tip that I learned the hard way.

At the end of 2011, I thought I had come up with a clever way to increase expenses and thus tax deductions in 2011.  I decided to pay my February 2012 mortgage payment on an investment property at the end of 2011 so the costs would go on the 2011 taxes.  Unfortunately, when the bank sent me my tax information it applied the payment to 2012's interest payment.  I thought timing the payment the way I did would give me an immediate tax deduction but that evidently is not allowed.

I guess Einstein was right when he said "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax"