How to get Form 1098 for mortgage interest on co-owned house?

The Form 1098 is sent by your mortgage lender, not something you need to find or download. Your mortgage company should have mailed it to you already (they're required to send them by January 31st), or it might be available in your online mortgage account if you have one set up. If you haven't received it, you should definitely call your mortgage company directly. Explain the situation with your co-owner and ask them to send you a copy of the form. They'll have it on file and can usually email or mail you another copy pretty easily. As for using your property tax statement instead - that's not quite the same thing. The 1098 reports the mortgage interest you paid (which is potentially deductible) as well as property taxes paid through escrow. If you paid property taxes directly to the county (not through your mortgage), then yes, you would use those statements to claim that deduction, but you'd still want the 1098 for the mortgage interest portion.

I was in a really similar situation last year with a property I co-owned with my brother. Couldn't get the 1098 form anywhere and my mortgage company kept giving me the runaround. I finally used this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me sort everything out. They have this tool that analyzes your mortgage statements and tax documents and then tells you exactly what you can claim even without the 1098. Saved me hours of frustration and probably a bunch of money too. They were able to reconstruct all the information I needed for my tax filing from my bank statements showing the mortgage payments. The best part is they walked me through exactly how to report everything correctly on my return since I was filing without the actual form. Might be worth checking out if your mortgage company is being difficult.

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after I was skeptical in my earlier comment. I decided to give it a try when my mortgage company kept telling me my 1098 was "in the mail" for weeks. The service was actually incredibly helpful! I uploaded my monthly mortgage statements and property tax records, and it extracted all the interest and tax information perfectly. What really impressed me was that it caught that my mortgage company had made a calculation error on one of my statements that I would have just copied over. They even provided me with a detailed report I could keep with my tax records in case of an audit. Definitely worth it and saved me from having to keep calling my mortgage company every other day.

If calling your mortgage company doesn't work (and trust me, it can be IMPOSSIBLE to get through to them sometimes), you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I used them when I was in a similar situation trying to get tax forms from my lender. Basically they have this system that gets you through to a human at your mortgage company super fast instead of waiting on hold forever. I was literally on hold for 2+ hours before I gave up and tried their service. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c With mortgage companies being so backed up right now, it saved me so much time. I got through to someone at my lender in about 10 minutes, explained my situation, and had them email me the 1098 form while I was still on the phone. Way better than the weeks of trying to call them myself.

Alright, I need to eat my words from my previous comment. After my mortgage company left me on hold for literally 3 hours yesterday, I broke down and tried the Claimyr service that I was skeptical about. It actually worked exactly as advertised. I got a call back when a rep was available without having to stay on hold, and I was talking to someone from my mortgage company within about 15 minutes. The rep pulled up my 1098 information immediately and emailed me a copy while we were on the phone. Would I have eventually gotten through on my own? Probably. But after weeks of trying and failing, this saved me so much frustration. Sometimes it's worth paying a little to save yourself hours of aggravation.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - check if your mortgage company has an online portal! I never receive paper copies of my 1098 anymore because everything is electronic. Once I set up my online account, I could access all my tax forms, including current and past 1098s, by just logging in. Most of the big mortgage companies (Chase, Wells Fargo, Rocket, etc.) have this option, and even many smaller lenders do too. Look for a "Tax Documents" or "Tax Forms" section after you log in. Might save you a lot of hassle!

Just want to add one important thing - if you're still sharing the mortgage with your ex even though he's gone, make sure you understand how the 1098 reporting works. The form usually only lists one borrower (primary) so if it has your ex's SSN on it, the IRS computer system is expecting him to report that interest. If you're claiming the interest on your return (which you probably should if you're making the payments), you need to include a statement with your tax return explaining that you're a co-borrower responsible for the debt and made the payments, but the 1098 was issued with the other person's info.

I went through something very similar when my ex moved out suddenly and left me dealing with all the mortgage paperwork alone. Here's what worked for me: First, definitely call your mortgage company directly - as a co-borrower, you have every right to request the 1098. Have your SSN and loan number ready when you call. Most companies can email you a copy immediately once they verify your identity. If your mortgage company is being difficult or you can't get through, you have a few backup options: 1. Check if they have an online portal where you can download tax documents 2. If you paid through a bank account, your bank statements showing the mortgage payments can serve as backup documentation for the interest portion 3. For property taxes, if you paid them directly to the county (not through escrow), use those receipts One thing to be careful about - if the 1098 was issued with your ex's SSN as the primary borrower but you're claiming the deduction, include a brief statement with your return explaining that you're a co-borrower who made the payments. This helps avoid IRS matching issues later. The good news is that mortgage companies deal with these situations all the time, especially with divorces and separations. They should be able to help you get what you need for your tax filing.