Updated October 17, 2026. Quick answer: Form 1098 is the statement your mortgage lender sends to report the interest and certain other amounts you paid on a mortgage. The borrower copy of the form says of its first box: “Shows the mortgage interest received by the recipient/lender during the year.” Find the box you are reading in the table below.
Related reading on this site: IRS Publication 530.
More IRS forms and schedules for individual filers, read line by line: Form 8396 instructions.
IRS worksheets read line by line: Home Mortgage Interest Limit Worksheet.
Schedule A and Schedule B (Form 1040) for 2025, read line by line: Schedule A lines 5b and 5c, Schedule A line 8a and Schedule A lines 8b, 8c and 8e.
The boxes, one page each
Each row links to the page that reads that box. The right column is a line from the borrower copy of the form. For an overview of the form, the Form 1098 overview is the one-page summary.
| Page | What the borrower copy says |
|---|---|
| Form 1098 box 1 | “Shows the mortgage interest received by the recipient/lender during the year.” |
| Form 1098 box 2 | “Shows the outstanding principal on the mortgage as of January 1 of the calendar year.” |
| Form 1098 boxes 3 and 11 | “Shows the date of the mortgage origination.” |
| Form 1098 box 4 | “Do not deduct this amount.” |
| Form 1098 box 5 | “If an amount is reported in this box, it may qualify to be treated as deductible mortgage interest.” |
| Form 1098 box 6 | “Not all points are reportable to you.” |
| Form 1098 boxes 7, 8, 9 | “Shows the address or description of the property securing the mortgage.” |
| Form 1098 box 10 | “The interest recipient may use this box to give you other information, such as real estate taxes or insurance paid from escrow.” |
Who sends the form
The borrower copy explains who must furnish the statement: “received from you at least $600 of mortgage interest” on any one mortgage in the calendar year. Where there are other borrowers on the loan, the form adds: “Each borrower is entitled to deduct only the amount each borrower paid and points paid by the seller that represent each borrower’s share of the amount allowable as a deduction.”
Edition this guide follows
These pages read the April 2025 revision of Form 1098 and its instructions. The December 2026 revision of the instructions was the one irs.gov served as current on 2026-10-17 and was read for comparison, and the form irs.gov served that day was still the April 2025 revision. Check the revision printed on the form you received.
What is not covered here
The lender’s own name, address and account boxes are not explained here, and neither are Form 1098-T or Form 1098-E; see the Form 1098-T page for the tuition statement.
Common mistakes
- Deducting box 4. The borrower copy says “Do not deduct this amount.” It is a refund or credit of interest from an earlier year.
- Assuming box 1 holds every dollar related to the loan. The form says box 1 “does not include points, government subsidy payments, or seller payments” on a buydown mortgage.
- Treating box 10 as a statement of your whole tax bill. The form says “The interest recipient may use this box to give you other information”, which is whatever the lender chooses to report.
Related: Form 1098 overview, Schedule A (Form 1040) itemized deductions, Form 1040, and The 2026 SALT cap.
Sources
- Form 1098 (Rev. 4-2025) with Instructions for Payer/Borrower: IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
- Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. April 2025): IRS archived PDF (irs.gov)
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.