DictionaryIdentity and taxes

Form 1098: what it means

Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, is the IRS form on which whoever collects your mortgage interest, usually your lender or loan servicer, reports how much interest you paid during the year. It can also show points you paid when buying your main home, mortgage insurance premiums, the balance you owe and other items, such as property tax paid from the escrow account.

In Spanish it is

Formulario 1098

Also written as: 1098 · Mortgage Interest Statement

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Verified on October 17, 2026

3 official sources

See the whole dictionary

The full explanation

You generally receive a copy. If you itemize deductions, you use it to deduct mortgage interest on Schedule A, only to the extent the law allows.

An example

After his first year with a mortgage, Mario gets a Form 1098 from his servicer. He keeps it with his W-2 and takes it to the VITA site to prepare his return.

You will see it in…

Your loan servicer's mail or online account, after the year ends
Schedule A (Form 1040), if you itemize deductions
Your list of documents for your tax return, if you have a mortgage

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

1. IRS · About Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
2. IRS · Instructions for Form 1098 (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
3. IRS · Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026