Cash out refi on primary Home to invest, can I deduct interest?

[Anette Colcock]

I have a question that I am trying to get an answer on... purchased a primary residence 3 yrs ago, put 65% down on the house due to proceeds from another primary residence sale. Have since then acquired three rentals, now considering doing a cash refi on my primary residence to pull out some of the original cash down to use the money to invest in additional properties. Question I have is: can I deduct the interest payments from pulling cash out in my taxes? It was my money to begin with and I am not using any increased value, I’m pulling out less than I put down, so if I had done this from the start I would automatically have been able to deduct the interest. This money may sit in an investment savings account for 6 to 12 months before acquiring a property. How will this be looked upon by tax powers that be?