Do I have to report all 1098 Mortgage Interest Statements if one exceeds the $750k max loan balance?

Thanks for the quick response! That makes a lot of sense about the IRS already having the info. I definitely don't want to trigger any audit flags. Just to clarify, for the rental property mortgage interest - that goes on Schedule E completely separate from my personal mortgage interest deduction, right? Does that mean the $750k limit doesn't apply to the rental property interest at all?

Yes, that's exactly right! The rental property mortgage interest is reported on Schedule E as a rental expense, completely separate from your personal mortgage interest deduction. The $750k limit only applies to qualified residence interest (your primary home and one second home). Since your rental property is a business expense, that interest is fully deductible on Schedule E without being subject to the $750k limitation. Just make sure you're properly allocating any mortgage interest between personal and rental use if any of the properties have mixed usage.

Did they require you to create an account or anything? I'm always hesitant to upload my tax documents to random websites. How quickly did you get a response after uploading?

I'm curious about this too. How exactly does it work with the rental property portion? My CPA charges me an extra $150 just to handle my rental property calculations and I'm wondering if this would be a cheaper alternative.

They do require a basic account but the security is solid - they use the same encryption as banks. I got my analysis back in about 20 minutes, which was way faster than I expected. For the rental property, they broke down exactly how to report the interest on Schedule E versus the itemized deduction for the personal properties. They actually found that my CPA had been allocating some expenses incorrectly for years. Their explanation included specific line numbers on each form where everything should go.

Wait this actually works? I've tried calling the IRS so many times and never get through. How much did you have to pay for this service?

This sounds like a scam. How exactly would a third party get you through to the IRS faster than anyone else? They probably just connect you to some fake "agent" who gives generic advice.

It absolutely works! I was connected to an actual IRS representative who was able to look up my specific tax account. They use some technology that navigates the phone system and holds your place in line so you don't have to. I'd rather not discuss specific pricing here since that might change, but it was absolutely worth it for the time saved. Just check their website - they're completely transparent about how it works. They don't pretend to be the IRS or anything sketchy like that. They just navigate the hold system for you and call you when an agent is ready.

This is such an important point! My mortgage broker never explained this difference to me. Is there an easy way to figure out which portions of my loans count as acquisition debt versus home equity debt?

There's no automatic or easy way unfortunately - you need to track the use of the funds. Acquisition debt is only money borrowed to buy, build, or substantially improve your home. If you refinanced at some point, it gets even more complicated because you have to track the original acquisition debt. For example, if you had a $400k mortgage to buy your home, then later did a cash-out refi for $500k and used that extra $100k for something unrelated to the home (like college tuition), only the $400k portion remains deductible acquisition debt. It's a huge pain to track but worth figuring out before the IRS questions it.

That's a great point. I'm in New Jersey with high property taxes and the SALT limitation basically makes my mortgage interest deduction worth a lot less. I actually ended up just taking the standard deduction last year even with a huge mortgage because of this.