Why did I receive Form 1098 - The Copy A Version

I did a cash out refinance in 2019. I received  a 1098 from the Mortg. lender I paid off. It included less than $200 of MIP. I received a 2nd 1098 from the lender who acquired my loan, contains  zero MIP.  Both have have amounts in Box 1 (interest), origination dates, original mtg. principal and both are Copy B versions. 

 

I received a 3rd 1098 from the mortgage company that facilitated the refi. This one contains less than $50 in actual interest paid, has no original mtg. principal, has no origination date but it has a large amount of MIP. I've noticed that this one states that it is a a Copy A version and is not for the buyer but instead the IRS Service Center and should be mailed with form 1096. 

 

I entered all three as-is, and ran into a caution in the error check routine, which prompts me to fill in the original principal amount, which is nowhere to be found on the form. 

 

So, if I delete the 3rd 1098 i entered, my refund does go down  a bit, a little over a $100, which must be due to last minute MIP deduction legislation that ive read about, recognizing my MIP as eligible for deduction. That being said, I'm concerned about the caution TT gives me and wonder if my return will be rejected or worse, audited. If i run error check without the 3rd one, i get zero errors. Not sure if i should submit taxes as-is and ignore the error correction notice or not? Help!

 

*Why would they send to me the Copy A version? DO they expect me to manually send that form to the IRS? Aren't they supposed to? Seems like if i want to try to deduct MIP  I won't be able to file online as-is. I'm lost on next steps. 

MarilynG1
Expert Alumni

Deductions & credits

Contact the mortgage company that issued the Copy A 1098 to see why you received that copy and what the Mortgage Principal Balance should be. 

 

Since they 'facilitated' the refinance, the mortgage balance amount could be the same amount shown on the refinanced 1098. 

 

Click this link for more info from the IRS about Form 1098 for Mortgage Interest. 

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Deductions & credits

Thank you for the response. Before you responded I did call them. As it turns out, the only reason I received Copy A is because they 'ran out' of Copy B forms at the time they were processing mine. I didn't pin them down on the origination amount during the call, I just used the original principle amt the acquiring lender published in their 1098, as TurboTax did require me to fill out the field at the very end of the process after I paid but before I could transmit. Up until that point I assumed it was encouraging me to enter it. Would have been nice if TT had stopped me from going through payment and final steps but not a big deal as I assume this is not common. Both had an origination date within a week of each other, so the principal should be the same. If I somehow get dinged for using the principal amount that was acquired, so be it as I'm clearly not trying to pull a fast one, just entering what was provided.  The whole point of reporting it is to report the MIP and Interest I paid and not so much the principal amount right? I'm optimistic all will be well, return was accepted, awaiting approval. Definitely a little sloppy on the part of the broker I worked through to refinance. Definitely shouldn't have been this difficult. If i get dinged/rejected/audited, I will reply back on this so people know what to do otherwise in this uncommon situation....and I'll have a conversation with my mortgage broker also. 😉 Thanks again for responding!