Can I deduct up-front mortgage insurance premiums?

[asylum475]

I bought my first home in 2013 and paid my mortgage insurance premiums up front as part of my closing costs.  This amount is not in the 1098 I received from my lender, but can I deduct it anyway?

[DoninGA · Accepted solution]

Up front PMI paid has to be spread over a 84 month period or the life of the loan, whichever is less.  It is deductible on your federal income tax return as an itemized deduction on Schedule A.

• Go to Federal Taxes
• Click on Deductions and Credits
• Click on Explore on My Own
• Under Your Home
• On Mortgage Insurance, click the start or update button

[jmoaks]

And how, using turbotax can we get to schedule A to itemize?

[sskolsky]

I would like to know the same thing. Do I add the upfront PMI to the amount on my 1098, since they are two separate things or is there a separate section I add the upfront PMI that is on my HUD statement?

[DoninGA]

If the amount on your 1098 does not include the amounts you paid upfront for PMI, then you would add the two amounts together.  To enter the PMI paid in TurboTax,
Go to Federal Taxes
Click on Deductions and Credits
Click on Explore on My Own
Under Your Home
On Mortgage Insurance, click the start or update button

[sskolsky]

Would it be flagged since the amount reported to irs on 1098 doesnt match the amount i put in if i add the two together?

[DoninGA]

Doubt that would be a flag for the IRS, since thousands of taxpayers do that.  But keep your records showing the upfront payment and the 1098 payments.

[lelandjennymille]

I need clarification on this....I received a 1098 from my lender with our mortgage insurance premium and then received a 1098 substitute from our old lender that has a much larger mortgage insurance premium number on it. Am I supposed to add the two numbers together? Then it makes the amount a lot higher than what I paid last year and I don't want the irs to question it. Any help or advice would be appreciated 🙂

[DoninGA]

Same lender or two different lenders?

[lelandjennymille]

Two different. We had one mortgage company and refinanced to another one and they sold it to a different one. So I got a 1098 from my mortgage company and I got another 1098 from the mortgage company after we refinanced and then I got a 1098 substitute from the company we refinanced with. The 1098 substitute is the one with the very high mortgage insurance premium number.

[DoninGA]

For this situation with multiple PMI amounts due to a refinance and then a sale to another loan company, I would contact the company directly to see how the PMI on the 1098 with the high amount was calculated.  The amount of PMI from the original mortgage company before the refinance should be correct and would not think that amount would be rolled over into the 1098 you received from the original refinance company or the substitute 1098.

[lelandjennymille]

Will I get in trouble with the irs if I don't do anything about the mortgage insurance premium amount from the 1098 substitute? My gut instinct is telling me just to leave it off altogether and just go with what is on the regular 1098 from my current lender.

[DoninGA]

You will not have a problem from an IRS standpoint if you do not report an itemized deduction, which the PMI is.

[sskolsky]

Since my upfront pmi was paid directly to fha what do input as the bank name?

[sskolsky]

I want to claim my upfront pmi that is on my hud statement.