Help! Mortgage servicer refusing to provide 1098 mortgage interest form for trust-owned property

The mortgage interest deduction is still available to you even without Form 1098. The 1098 makes it easier, but it's not absolutely required if you have proper documentation of your payments. Since your property is in a trust, there are some specific considerations. First, ensure your trust is a "grantor trust" where you're treated as the owner for tax purposes. Most family trusts for primary residences are set up this way. If that's the case, you're entitled to claim the mortgage interest deduction on your personal tax return. For documentation, gather all your mortgage payment records for the year. Create a spreadsheet showing each payment with the interest portion clearly identified. You should be able to get this from your online account or monthly statements. Keep all these records in case of an audit. When filing, you'll need to enter the lender's information and interest amount manually rather than importing from a 1098. You might want to attach a brief explanation to your return stating that the lender refused to provide a 1098 despite your requests.

I had a similar nightmare situation last year after refinancing. After dozens of calls and getting nowhere, I finally tried taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was actually super helpful. They have this feature where you upload your mortgage statements and they analyze everything to create documentation that works as a substitute for the missing 1098. What I really liked was they provided a detailed report breaking down exactly how much qualified mortgage interest I paid, which is what the IRS really wants to see anyway. They even helped me understand how to properly document everything in case of an audit. Saved me so much stress!

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after my initial skepticism, and I have to admit it was really helpful. I uploaded my mortgage statements and bank records, and they produced a perfectly organized substitute for my missing 1098 form. What surprised me was how they caught that I had made an extra principal payment in June that would have messed up my interest calculations if I'd done it manually. The documentation they provided clearly showed all payment dates, how much went to principal vs. interest, and included references to the specific IRS regulations that allow for alternative documentation when a 1098 isn't provided. My accountant was actually impressed with how thorough it was. Definitely worth checking out if you're in a similar situation.

After reading your post, I'm remembering my own nightmare trying to get through to my mortgage company last year about a similar issue. I spent literally HOURS on hold and kept getting transferred between departments with no resolution. I finally discovered Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which somehow got me directly connected to an actual human at my mortgage company in under 10 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c Instead of waiting on hold for hours, their system navigated the phone tree and waited on hold for me, then called me when a real person was on the line. I was able to get escalated to a supervisor who actually understood trust issues and got my 1098 situation resolved. Might be worth trying if you're still hitting a wall with regular customer service.

I need to eat my words and update everyone. After my skeptical comment, I decided to give Claimyr a shot with my mortgage servicer problem. I was trying to get documentation for a mortgage recast that wasn't showing correctly on my statements. Normally I'd be on hold for 45+ minutes, but their system called me back when a rep was actually on the line. The best part was that I got connected to someone in the actual servicing department instead of the general call center. The rep mentioned they could see I'd called multiple times before (which was true) and actually apologized for the runaround. Got my issue resolved in one call instead of the usual four. For anyone dealing with mortgage servicer issues like the original poster, it's definitely worth trying instead of the traditional hold-music nightmare.

Another option you might consider is contacting the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau). Mortgage servicers are required to respond to complaints filed through the CFPB within a specific timeframe. I had to do this when my servicer kept "losing" my escrow analysis requests. Filed a complaint through the CFPB portal, and suddenly my servicer became MUCH more responsive. Within a week I had a call from someone in their "executive response team" who actually had authority to fix issues. Since generating tax forms is part of their regulatory obligations, a CFPB complaint might light a fire under them to provide your 1098 properly.

Just throwing this out there - I'm a retired mortgage banker and this happens more often than you'd think with properties in trusts. One workaround while you're fighting with the servicer: ask them to provide a yearly interest statement or payment history on company letterhead. It's not a 1098, but it contains the same information and can be used to substantiate your tax deduction. The IRS cares about verification of how much interest you paid, not specifically whether it's on form 1098. Many accountants and tax preparers are familiar with this situation, particularly with high-net-worth clients who often have properties in trusts.