Form 1098

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Box 2 on my 1098 form shows 0.00. When I enter this in Turbotax it says that the outstanding mortgage principal must have a value. I will not have enough to itemize deductions. Should I just not enter my mortgage interest?

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rjsAnswer

Level 15

If you are sure that you do not have enough itemized deductions to exceed your standard deduction, there is no need to enter your mortgage interest or any other itemized deductions. However, some states allow you to itemize on your state tax return even if you used the standard deduction on your federal return, and in some cases it's advantageous to do that. So before you give up on entering your mortgage interest, make sure that omitting it will not adversely affect your state tax.

If you still want to enter the mortgage interest, why is box 2 zero? It's supposed to be the outstanding principal as of January 1, 2020 (or as of the mortgage origination date, if it originated in 2020). If there was no outstanding principal at the beginning of the year, you would not have made any payments or paid any interest during the year. Is this a situation where you have more than one Form 1098 for the same loan? If so, give the details.

rjs

Answer

Level 15

If you are sure that you do not have enough itemized deductions to exceed your standard deduction, there is no need to enter your mortgage interest or any other itemized deductions. However, some states allow you to itemize on your state tax return even if you used the standard deduction on your federal return, and in some cases it's advantageous to do that. So before you give up on entering your mortgage interest, make sure that omitting it will not adversely affect your state tax.

If you still want to enter the mortgage interest, why is box 2 zero? It's supposed to be the outstanding principal as of January 1, 2020 (or as of the mortgage origination date, if it originated in 2020). If there was no outstanding principal at the beginning of the year, you would not have made any payments or paid any interest during the year. Is this a situation where you have more than one Form 1098 for the same loan? If so, give the details.