Married File Separate - Outstanding Mortgage Principle

[terrier_tax]

Hello,

My husband is listed on our 1098 form, but we are both on the loan and split the mortgage payments 50/50. 

For mortgage deductions I plan to answer the following:
Box 1 - Mortgage Interest - I will enter only the amount I paid for in the calendar year (50%)

Property (real estate) taxes - I will enter only the amount I paid for in the calendar year (50%)

However, it is unclear to me how to report Box 2 - Outstanding Mortgage Principle. Should I enter 50% of the remaining principle or the full amount that we are both liable for. I've seen multiple answers across the community so looking for a definitive answer. This year we are filing under - Married File Separate.

[DavidD66 · Accepted solution]

When filing separately, the loan limit to determine the amount of interest you can deduct is halved to $375,000 per person ($500,000 for loans obtained December 15, 2017 or earlier.  Therefore, you should enter 50% of the remaining principal.  If the total loan amount(s) for all your mortgage dept is less than $750,000 it's a moot point as your deduction will not be limited.