Ipop - The following is applicable language from pub 936. Like 95% of tax language it is written to explain what isn't instead of what is.
<strong><i>from pub 936</i></strong>
If you took out a loan for reasons other than to buy, build, or substantially improve your home, it may qualify as home equity debt. In addition, debt you incurred to buy, build, or substantially improve your home, to the extent it is more than the home acquisition debt limit (discussed earlier), may qualify as home equity debt.
Home equity debt is a mortgage you took out after October 13, 1987, that:
Does not qualify as home acquisition debt or as grandfathered debt, and
Is secured by your qualified home.
..<p>
Home equity debt limit. There is a limit on the amount of debt that can be treated as home equity debt. The total home equity debt on your main home and second home is limited to the smaller of:
$100,000 ($50,000 if married filing separately), or
The total of each home's fair market value (FMV) reduced (but not below zero) by the amount of its home acquisition debt and grandfathered debt. Determine the FMV and the outstanding home acquisition and grandfathered debt for each home on the date that the last debt was secured by the home.
<strong><i>me again</i></strong>
In my examples from my last post: in example 1) The whole $100,000 would be considered qualified home equity debt.
in example 2) if the taxpayer spends the $100,000 on the property, the first $25,000 is home equity debt and the $75,000 is home equity debt and all the interest is deductible, because the $75,000 is more than the home acquisition debt limit and it does not qualify as home acquisition debt and it <strong>WAS</strong> used to buy, build, or substantially improve the home.
But if taxpayer spends the $100,000 on a personal use Ferarri, only the $25,000 is home equity debt, and the $75,000 is personal, non-deductible debt.
The IRS makes it's own definitions and it is confusing as heck. When someone reads "home equity debt", they think "HELOC", but not the IRS. HELOC does not equal "home equity debt". They make up their own definitions.
Have I made this more clear or more confusing?