Mortgage interest

[kdownie]

I sold my home in October 2024 and purchased another home in the same month. The mortgage interest is totaling roughly the same as in 2023, where I owned the first home the entire year. ~$20K in interest. For my 2023 taxes I was able to use all 20K as a deduction. In 2024 turbo tax, it's capping me at 12K, despite having the 20K documented. I have a feeling this is related to having 2 loans >750K, when in fact I never had both at the same time. I make a little more salary but not enough that I would expect such a big difference. Any suggestions on where I went wrong, perhaps with how I entered the home sale and new purchase? Is it possible I'm capped due to salary?

[KrisD15]

The amount of home mortgage interest you can claim is not limited by your Adjusted Gross Income. It can only be limited by the balance of the loan. 

Since you have two Form 1098, you can enter each one and CAREFULLY answer the interview questions. 

If neither loan was more than 750,000, you should be allowed to claim all the interest paid in 2024. 

TurboTax does not average the loan balances.

You should have gotten to a screen where the program indicates the interest was limited. 

If the loan balance was never over 750,000 on any day in 2024, please enter the full amount of interest on this screen. 

It's best to have the program make the correct calculation, but that section is tricky. 

As long as the balance on either loan was never over 750,000, you can also enter as if you only have one Form 1098, enter the total interest from both, and the highest of the two balances. 

Form 1098 is used to calculate the interest, the forms are not reported on the return and matched by the IRS like some forms are. 

(If you paid points in 2024, you'll need to show that as a new loan to get the points added)