When entering the mortgage credit certificate, is the interest spot the interest paid? and then next how do i know if i have carryover?

[Cynthiad66]

In most cases, this will be the amount in box 1 on Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, or on a similar statement you received from your mortgage holder.

If the amount on line 9 is less than the amount on line 7, you may have an unused credit to carry forward to the next 3 tax years or until used, whichever comes first. The current year credit is used first and then the prior year credits, beginning with the earliest prior year. If you have any unused credit to carry forward to 2021, keep a copy of this form to figure your credit for 2021.

To enter your Mortgage Credit Certificate in TurboTax (Online Free Edition does not support this feature)

1. Select the Federal Taxes tab (In Home & Business Edition select the “Personal” tab)

2. Select “Deductions and Credits” then press the “I’ll choose what I work on” button

3. Scroll down to the “Your Home” section and (In the online version also select “Show More”) then start or update “Mortgage Interest and Refinancing”

4. Answer Yes if prompted “Did you have any home loans in 2015”

5. Continue entering information about your mortgage and press the Continue button after each screen

6. When you return to the “Home Loan Summary Screen” you will have the option to add additional loans if needed

7. You will return to the “Your 2015 Deductions and Credits” screen

8. Scroll down to the “Your Home” section and start or update “Mortgage Interest Credit Certificate”

9. Answer Yes to “Do You Have a Mortgage Credit Certificate”

10. Continue to the “Enter Mortgage Interest Credit Info” screen

11. Enter the information from your certificate. For the mortgage interest field, only enter mortgage interest that was for the loan covered by your certificate (do not use interest from other loans) and press Continue

12. If you have a carryover of this credit from previous years, answer Yes on the “Mortgage Credit Carryover” screen, then enter your carryover information from the last three years

If you itemize your deductions on Schedule A, you must reduce the amount of home mortgage interest you would otherwise deduct on Schedule A by the amount on Form 8396 - TurboTax will deduct the proper amount for you.

You can get more information about the Mortgage Credit Certificate from the IRS at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8396.pdf

You can get more information about Home Mortgage Interest in general at https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/Home-Ownership/Deducting-Mortgage-Interest-FAQs/INF12...

[Lovejoy]

The MCC screen says, "Tell us the following information, which is shown on your Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC)."

There are five fields, one of which is Mortgage Interest. Yet, from what you're saying here, this information is not on the MCC. Rather, it's on Form 1098. If that's the correct interpretation of the field, then it would help for someone to correct the instructions.

[DaveF1006]

No, interest is listed on the MCC also because the mortgage interest credit helps lower-income individuals purchase and own their own home. If they qualify, they can claim this credit each year based on a portion of their home mortgage interest.

The 1098 form is used for taxpayers to claim their mortgage interest as an itemized deduction. The MCC is for lower income individuals who own home to claim a credit on the mortgage interest that they pay but who otherwise are claiming a standard deduction.

In a sense, interest reported on a 1098 and on a MCC are used for two different purposes. I hope this clarifies the confusion.

@Lovejoy

[Lovejoy]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your reply, but now I am confused again. The screen I'm talking about entitled "Enter Mortgage Interest Credit Info" (when you click that you have an MCC, which I do) has five fields. The instructions on that screen say to provide the following information "which is shown on your Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC)": 

Issuer

Certificate Number

Issue Date

Mortgage Interest

Credit Rate %

I find all of that information on my MCC except "Mortgage Interest." The other expert in this thread said that that is located in Box 1 of my 1098, which I do see. But are you now saying that I should be able to find "Mortgage Interest" on my MCC? What should I be looking for? Because I don't see it.

If instead that information is found in Box 1 of my 1098, then what I was saying in my last post was that it may be helpful for someone to correct the instructions on this page, since they say that this information is shown on my MCC, but it's not. It's shown on my 1098. I hope that makes sense.

[DaveF1006]

If it isn't listed on the MCC, use the amount listed in Box 1 from the 1098.  I should have said it may be listed than it should be listed because that would have been less confusing. 

Keep in mind, our main focus here is to help you get the MCC credit if you are unable to itemize your deductions, which includes mortgage interest.