Do I really need to go back through my home improvement records back to 2003 (loan origination date)?

[dhodge]

For 2018, I was entering the mortgage interest deduction.  There is a series of question about how the money was used (pulled cash out).  Then, I get to the question: "Since you first took out this loan, how much has been spent to buy, improve, or build the home it's secured by?"  Do I really need to go back through my home improvement records to add up how much I have spent since the loan origination date?

[Ashby · Accepted solution]

This is all because of the new tax reform rules regarding home equity interest and whether it's deductible.

If you refinanced and cashed out, you need to figure the percentage of interest based on the percentage of money used to used to buy, build or substantially improve your home. This is a new requirement for tax years 2018 through 2025.

So, if you refinanced for $250k and used $50k to pay off credit cards, you should only deduct 80% of your mortgage interest.

This is a long way of saying "yes" or "maybe" to your actual question, since I don't know exactly your mortgage scenario.

[fanfare]

@TurboTaxAshby  your solution answers the question by way of algebra.