@JohnB5677
Huh, that's odd. You're right - the IRS instructions for 1098 say:
"Box 2. Shows the outstanding principal on the mortgage as of January 1, 2021.
If the mortgage originated in 2021, shows the mortgage principal as of the date
of origination. If the recipient/lender acquired the loan in 2021, shows the
mortgage principal as of the date of acquisition."
However, for the TurboTax online instructions, it says this:
"Your outstanding mortgage principal balance is the amount of money you still owe on your home loan.
If you took out the loan in 2020, please input your original loan balance. If your loan was funded before 2020, please input your balance as of January 1, 2020."
But why would the IRS mention about loans acquired in 2021? We wouldn't be reporting mortgages originated in 2021 for the 2020 tax year. Strange.. any clarification on this?
