I own a second home with a mortgage (HELOC) that was used for personal use for the first 3 months of 2024. I rented it out completely for the last 9 months of 2024, and it is still being rented. I know that I need to deduct the mortgage interest for the 9 months it was rented in the rental property expenses section (Sched. E) and Turbotax will put the remainder in the personal property deductions section (Sched. A) and the same goes for property taxes. I have a question related to properly classifying this mortgage interest on Schedule E:
In Turbotax Premier Desktop for PC, under Wages & Income, Rental Properties, Expenses, I am directed to enter mortgage interest from Line 1, Form 1098. It says "Check the Qualified Interest box if the mortgage is for your primary home or your vacation home." I don't know if I should check the box or not given that it was a vacation home for the first 3 months of 2024 and a rental property for the last 9 months of 2024. Whether I check it or not makes a huge difference to the tax due, resulting in a large refund if the "NON-qualified interest" box is checked.
I paid the $60 extra for "Turbotax Live Tax Support - Connect with an Expert" but they did not know the answer and said they would submit the question to research.
Thank you.
