The issue may have to do with whether you had a refinance as well as a loan sold to another lender.
Currently, TurboTax has instructed us to combine multiple 1098s together. But if your loan is sold, then you don't have two loans - you have one. The loan was sold outside of your control and the only thing that changes is the bank to whom you make payments. So you only use the ORIGINAL 1098 for that entry. If you used both, then you would have the $1M limit applied, as you mentioned.
Once you're done with the sold loan portion, go ahead and follow these official steps regarding the refinance:
How do I handle multiple 1098 mortgage forms?
If you have multiple 1098 mortgage forms, you’ll enter them one at a time. After going through the steps with the first one, you can add a lender when you get to the Mortgage deduction summary screen. (In the case of a refinance, it's best to enter the 1098 from your original loan before the 1098 from your refinance.)
But, if they're both from the same lender, and one of them has the “Corrected” checkbox marked at the top, enter the corrected 1098 and discard or shred the other one.
What do I do if I have multiple 1098s from refinancing my home debt?
If your total home debt is under $375,000 ($250,000 for married filing separate) there is nothing new for you to do in 2020. Enter each 1098 as you normally would.
Home Debt Over $375,000
Under tax law, you are limited on the amount of home interest you can deduct. The limit is based on the loan amount and date of the origination of debt. We want to make sure we calculate this correctly for you.
If you refinanced last year, you’ll have a Form 1098 from your previous lender and one from the lender you refinanced with. You’ll need both forms.
Follow these steps to enter your mortgage information:
- Gather all of your 1098 forms related to your refinance (the form from your original lender and the form from your new lender)
- Grab a calculator and add together the box 1 amount from each form. Enter the total in TurboTax as Box 1 Mortgage interest.
- Add the Box 5 amount from each form and enter the total as Box 5 Mortgage insurance premiums. (If you weren’t required to pay mortgage interest, these boxes will be blank on your forms and you won’t enter anything.)
- Add the property tax paid from each form and enter it in the Property (real estate) taxes box.
Next, finish adding info for boxes 2, 3, 7, and 11 using Form 1098 for the original loan.
What if I have more than two 1098s?
You should combine all of the 1098s directly related to the refinance and enter it as one 1098. An example of this is if you refinanced two loans into one loan. Any 1098s not directly related to the refinance should get entered separately.
What if I paid points?
Points on Loans Paid Off in 2020: Enter the points on your 1098 you have started and mark you paid off the loan when promoted.
Points on Loans on New Loans: You will want to enter a separate 1098 to cover these points paid. When prompted, enter 0.00 for Boxes 1, 2, 5, and the Property (real estate) taxes box, and checkbox 7, as you’ve already entered the details on your first 1098. For Box 3, add the date in 2020 when the loan originated.
@JK20201
