1098 for Mortgage: Reporting Rules for Lenders
and Borrowers

What is Form 1098 for a mortgage?

Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, is the information return a lender or other interest recipient uses to report the mortgage interest it received from an individual during the year. The lender files one copy with the IRS and furnishes another to the borrower, who uses it to claim the mortgage interest deduction.

The form covers mortgages broadly. A mortgage is any obligation secured by real property, including a home equity loan and a line of credit or credit card secured by real property.

Who files Form 1098, and who receives it?

The person who receives the interest files. The IRS requires a person who is engaged in a trade or business and receives $600 or more of mortgage interest from an individual on any one mortgage in a calendar year to file Form 1098.
Filers include:

• Banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies
• Governmental units and their subsidiary agencies
• Cooperative housing corporations, for the interest share of their tenant-stockholders
• Collection agents, such as a servicer that collects payments for a lender. The servicer files in place of the lender, even though it does not keep the interest
• Other businesses that finance a home purchase. A real estate developer that finances a buyer’s purchase of a home in its subdivision must file even though lending is not its business

How does a lender file and furnish Form 1098?

The lender’s work follows the year and ends with the filing.

• Track the interest. Total the mortgage interest, points, and qualifying mortgage insurance premiums received on each mortgage,
  by borrower.
• Check the $600 test. Apply it to each mortgage, and confirm the payer of record is an individual.
• Prepare one form per mortgage. Enter the lender’s name, address, and TIN, and the borrower’s name, address, and TIN. The lender’s TIN cannot be truncated. The borrower’s TIN may be truncated on the statement the borrower receives, but not on the copy filed with the IRS.
• Furnish the statement to
  the borrower by January 31.
• File with the IRS by February 28 on paper or March 31 electronically. A lender that files 10 or more information returns in total, counting all types together, must e-file. When a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, it moves to the next business day.
• Correct errors. If a form is wrong after filing, file a corrected return and furnish a corrected statement to the borrower.

Penalties apply separately to late or incorrect returns and to missing or late borrower statements. Learn more about 1098 penalties.

How does a borrower use Form 1098?

A borrower uses the form to claim the mortgage interest deduction as an itemized deduction on Schedule A. It makes sense only when the borrower’s itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction. The main rules are:

• Qualified home. The loan must be secured by the borrower’s main home or one other home.
• Debt limit. Interest is deductible on up to 750,000 of mortgage debt (375,000 if married filing separately) for loans made after December 15, 2017. A higher $1,000,000 limit applies to older debt.
• Home equity. Interest on a home equity loan or line of credit is deductible only when the money was used to buy, build, or substantially improve the home that secures the loan. Box 1 includes home equity interest, so the figure on the form is not always the
  deductible amount.
• Points and mortgage insurance. Points paid to buy a main home are reported in Box 6 and are generally deductible when they meet the IRS conditions. Qualified mortgage insurance premiums count as mortgage interest again starting in 2026.

The borrower does not need a Form 1098 to claim the deduction. The form supports the amounts. If the form is missing or the amount looks wrong, the borrower should ask the lender for a corrected statement and keep the loan statements.

Is there a 1099 for mortgage interest?

No. People often search for a 1099 for mortgage interest, but the form that reports mortgage interest a borrower paid is Form 1098. The 1099 series does come into play in related situations, so it helps to separate them.

Form 1098 and Form 1099-INT point in opposite directions. Form 1098 reports interest a borrower paid to a lender. Form 1099-INT reports interest a payer paid to a recipient. A lender that receives mortgage interest is the filer of Form 1098. It is not the recipient of a 1099-INT for
that interest.

A lender files Form 1099-INT only when it pays interest, such as on a refund of overpaid interest and, where it is paid, on an escrow account. The borrower reports that interest as income.

Seller-financed and private mortgages

When an individual lends money secured by a home, such as a seller who finances the buyer’s purchase, the interest is taxable income to the lender whether or not any form is issued.

• An individual lender not in a trade or business files no Form 1098. The lender reports the interest on Form 1040 and lists it on Schedule B when required. For seller financing where the buyer uses the property as a personal residence, the lender lists the buyer’s name, address, and SSN on Schedule B and gives the buyer the lender’s SSN.
• The borrower claims the deduction without a Form 1098 by writing the lender’s name, identifying number, and address on the lines next to Schedule A line 8b, and by giving the lender the borrower’s SSN.
• A lender that receives the interest in a trade or business files Form 1098 once it receives $600 or more on a mortgage, even if lending is not its main business.

Frequently asked questions