How do I enter a private mortgage

[rjs]

What exactly do you mean by a "private mortgage"? Is the mortgage loan from the person that you bought the home from (a seller-financed loan)? If so, enter it in the regular mortgage interest section. When you get to the screen that says "Do any of these situations apply?" select "This is a seller-financed loan."

If it's not a seller-financed loan, is the loan secured by your home? If not, you cannot deduct the interest. See the definition of Secured Debt in IRS Publication 936.

Mortgage interest that was not reported on Form 1098 has to be entered on Schedule A line 8b. If it's not a seller-financed loan, there is no way to make the entry in TurboTax Online. The entry can only be made in forms mode. Forms mode is only available in the CD/Download TurboTax software, not in TurboTax Online.

In forms mode, enter the interest directly on Schedule A line 8b. Do not use the Home Mortgage Interest Worksheet. If you enter it this way, TurboTax will not calculate any limits that might apply to the deduction. See "Part II. Limits on Home Mortgage Interest Deduction" beginning on page 9 of IRS Publication 936 to see if any limits apply to your deduction.

Note that mortgage interest is an itemized deduction. It will not make any difference in your tax or your refund unless your total itemized deductions are more than your standard deduction.

[PattiF]

If you have an installment sale from a seller-financed mortgage, you will need to enter the details of the sale in the first year. After everything is set up in the first year, then you will just need to enter the payments received split between interest and principal; and send a 1099-INT to the buyer. This needs to be sent to the IRS along with Form 1096 too.  

See this TurboTax article about an installment sale and how to initially set this up in the tax return.

[rjs]

@jmklosek  When I posted my reply above I assumed that you are the borrower. PattiF is assuming that you are the seller and lender. I now realize that your question does not say which side of the mortgage you are on. So follow whichever answer applies. If you have further questions, please clarify your role.