It feels good to own a home year-round, but for most people, it feels better when Uncle Sam comes calling. While it's always a good idea to check with a tax professional who knows your situation, here are the primary tax breaks homeowners receive:

• Mortgage interest deduction: Unless your loan is more than $1 million, you can fully deduct the mortgage interest you pay on your home.

• Home-equity debt: Generally Uncle Sam will let you deduct the interest on all home-equity debt under $100,000, but there might be restrictions based on how high your first mortgage is.

• Vacation homes: Mortgage interest on second homes is fully deductible as long as you use the property as a vacation home at least fourteen days a year or more than 10 percent of the days you rent it out, whichever period of time is longer.

• Mortgage points: If you paid points to get a better rate on your mortgage for purchase of the home (not a refinance), you can deduct them.

Plenty of people do their own taxes successfully, but the purchase of a house might provide a good reason to start working with a professional so you can take advantage of all benefits tied to home ownership.