I think I solved my original problem - I think I was entering in a 1098 form that was copied from last year. When I deleted it and started over, the instructions worked. However, I do have more questions based on the instructions on calculating the deductible amount based on the loan amounts relative to IRS limits.
The loan for our old house was originated before 2017 and was less than the $1M limit for full deductibility on older loans. We did not sell the house and still have the loan.
The loan for our new house was originated 12/3/20 and over the $750k limit for loans originated after 2017.
We moved to the new house on 12/28/20, and did not rent our previous house until 1/15/2021.
I saw a help example ("what if I had a mortgage larger than $750,000 at any time during 2020 with the sale of a home") on selling a home and buying new, but that doesn't fully fit our situation.
I entered old house loan straight from the 1098 (no calculation of proportion deductible since all should be deductible) and included the earlier origination date and principal amount.
For the new house, I performed the manual calculation for the percentage of the new loan interest paid (payment for December paid at origination) that is permissible as described in help and did not enter the principal amount. Also entered the points paid at origination.
Is that correct?
