I am having a similar issue. (Mine is 5x higher!). The original loan was taken to purchase the property in 2018. I entered that statement first. Box 2 for Outstanding Mortgage Principal is blank on that 1098, so I left that amount blank in TT too.
Some of the other 1098 forms had a value in Box 2 and some didn't. For those that listed a value there, the amount is a bit different from each other. I entered each into TT just as shown on each 1098, including the amount in Box 2 if it showed one.
Is my problem because some or all of my 1098 forms are incorrect? Should I simply ignore what is in Box 2 on the 1098 and show what should be there per your advice? (Enter the outstanding balance for the first loan for what it was 1/1/2019 and for subsequent loans leave that value blank?)
