Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Boxes 7, 8 and 9 of Form 1098 identify the property that secures your mortgage. Box 7 is checked, or box 8 is completed, when the property address matches yours; box 8 holds the address or a description; box 9 gives the number of properties when more than one secures the loan. None of the three is a dollar box.
What the three boxes say
The borrower copy explains each box in a sentence. Box 7: “If the address of the property securing the mortgage is the same as the payer’s/borrower’s, either the box has been checked, or box 8 has been completed.” Box 8: “Shows the address or description of the property securing the mortgage.” Box 9: “If more than one property secures the loan, shows the number of properties securing the mortgage.” “If only one property secures the loan, this box may be blank.”
These three boxes work together as an identifier. They are not amounts. This page covers them only; the whole statement is in the Form 1098 boxes guide and the form is introduced in the Form 1098 overview. The dates in boxes 3 and 11 are on the dates page, and the dollar boxes start with the box 2 page.
Box 7: the same-address check box
The form text for the box itself reads, on the borrower copy: “If address of property securing mortgage is the same as PAYER’S/BORROWER’S address, the box is checked, or the address or description is entered in box 8.” The lender’s instruction gives two ways to do it: “If the address of the property securing the mortgage is the same as the payer’s/borrower’s mailing address, either check the box or leave the box blank and complete box 8.”
In practice that means a statement with an unchecked box 7 and a filled-in box 8 is not contradictory. If the property is a different place from your mailing address, the instruction says “complete box 8”.
Box 8: address or description
The instruction for a property with a street address is: “enter the street address (including the apartment number) of the property securing the mortgage”. For a property with no address, the filer is told: “If the property securing the mortgage has no address, enter the property’s jurisdiction and the property’s Assessor Parcel Number(s) (APN), as indicated in the examples below.”
The instructions print three examples, shown here as printed:
| Example type | As printed in the filer instructions |
|---|---|
| County and parcel number | “Washtenaw County, MI VV-WW-XX-YYY-ZZZ” |
| County and a longer parcel number | “Jackson County, MO AA-BBB-CC-DD-EE-F-GG-HHH” |
| City and a short number | “Nashua, NH XX-YY” |
The letters stand for the characters of a parcel number. The same section lists other names for the number: “Synonyms for the APN include the Assessor’s Identification Number (AIN), the Property Identification Number (PIN), the Property Account Number, and the Tax Account Number.” If even that is missing, the instruction continues: “enter a description of the property, using metes and bounds if available, or other descriptive language to properly identify the property.”.
Box 9: number of properties
When a single mortgage is secured by more than one property, the lender shows one address in boxes 7 and 8 and the count in box 9: “If there is more than one property securing the mortgage, you may report the address of any one of the properties using boxes 7 and 8 and enter in box 9 the total number of properties securing the mortgage.”
The filer instruction on counting reads: “For purposes of determining the number of properties, you may consider any single physical street address, 911 address, lot, parcel, APN, or tract of land to be one property.” And for the single-property case: “If only one property secures the mortgage, you may leave this box blank.” A blank box 9 is therefore normal for an ordinary home loan.
Why these boxes matter even without a dollar amount
The address in boxes 7 and 8 shows which property the lender attached the loan to. The dollar amounts start with box 1, and the deduction itself is discussed on the Schedule A page.
Edition and box numbers
The primary read for this page is Form 1098 (Rev. April 2025), including its Instructions for Payer/Borrower on the borrower copy, together with the Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. April 2025) and Publication 936 for 2025 returns. The Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. December 2026) were the current instructions irs.gov served on 2026-10-17 and were compared line by line. The form copy served that day still reads “Form 1098 (Rev. 4-2025)”. Box 7, 8 and 9 have the same numbers on both editions. Comparing the December 2026 text with the April 2025 text, the wording of the three instructions is the same, with one visible difference: the December 2026 text introduces the multiple property statement with “Caution: The following statement applies to boxes 7 and 8.” The April 2025 text carries the same statement under a caution symbol. Check the revision and the calendar year printed on the statement you received.
Common mistakes
- Reading an unchecked box 7 as a problem. The instruction allows the lender to “either check the box or leave the box blank and complete box 8”.
- Expecting a street address on every statement. For a property with none, the lender may enter “the property’s jurisdiction and the property’s Assessor Parcel Number(s) (APN)”.
- Treating a blank box 9 as missing data. The instruction says “If only one property secures the mortgage, you may leave this box blank.”
Related: Form 1098 overview, Schedule A (Form 1040), property tax relief for seniors, and home sales and capital gains.
Sources
- Form 1098 (Rev. 4-2025) with Instructions for Payer/Borrower: IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
- Form 1098 as served by irs.gov on 2026-10-17, with Instructions for Payer/Borrower: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1098.pdf
- Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. April 2025): IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
- Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. December 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1098.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 17, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.