How to handle 1098 form with real estate taxes paid info that's "not furnished to IRS"

That asterisk is actually pretty common on 1098 forms. Your mortgage servicer is basically saying they're giving you information about what you paid through your escrow account for property taxes, but they're not officially verifying that amount to the IRS. You should absolutely still claim these property taxes as part of your itemized deductions if you're itemizing instead of taking the standard deduction. The asterisk is basically the mortgage company covering themselves because they don't want to be responsible for verifying the exact amount of property taxes - they're just passing along what they paid from your escrow account. To be safe, you should cross-check this amount with your actual property tax statement from your local tax authority. Sometimes the amounts on the 1098 don't match exactly what was assessed, especially if a payment was made late in December but not processed until January, or vice versa.

I was super confused about this same issue last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which literally saved my sanity. I uploaded my 1098 form with that exact same asterisk situation and it analyzed the form and explained exactly what to do. It confirmed I should claim the property tax deduction, but also flagged that I needed to check if the amount matched my actual property tax statement. The tool actually walks you through all the mortgage-related deductions you qualify for, not just the property tax part. I was about to pay my accountant an extra fee to sort this out, but the AI analysis gave me everything I needed to handle it myself.

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that was mentioned earlier. I was skeptical but gave it a try for my complicated property tax situation. I uploaded my 1098 forms and my actual property tax bills, and it immediately identified that my mortgage company had paid $5,300 in property taxes but $820 of that was actually for special assessments that aren't tax-deductible! The tool explained exactly which parts of my tax bill were deductible and which weren't, with specific references to IRS rules. It even generated a detailed report I could keep for my records in case of an audit. Honestly saved me from making a $820 deduction error that could have caused problems later. Definitely worth checking out if you have any confusion about mortgage or property tax deductions.

If you're struggling to get answers about your 1098 form or property tax questions, I was in the same boat last year. Called the IRS several times but couldn't get through to anyone who could help. Then someone recommended Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and there's this demo video (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) that shows how it works. Basically, they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks. The agent explained that the asterisk on my 1098 form is just the mortgage company's disclaimer, but I absolutely should claim those property taxes if I'm itemizing. They also walked me through exactly how to verify the amount against my county tax statement and what to do if there was a discrepancy.

I was completely wrong about Claimyr and owe everyone an apology. After dismissing it as a scam, my frustration with trying to get IRS help about my property tax situation got the better of me and I tried it anyway. Within 22 minutes, my phone rang and I was talking to an actual IRS agent. The agent confirmed that the "informational purposes only" note on my 1098 shouldn't stop me from claiming the deduction, but pointed out I needed to verify the amount matched what my county actually charged me. Turns out my mortgage company had paid the wrong amount and I would have either underpaid or overpaid my taxes without this clarification. Having a direct conversation with the IRS saved me from a potential audit trigger, and I didn't have to spend 3 hours on hold to get that help.

Here's something nobody mentioned yet - if the amount in Box 10 doesn't match what your county says you paid in property taxes, you should use the county's amount, NOT what's on the 1098. The mortgage company sometimes makes estimates or partial payments that don't align with the tax year. I learned this the hard way when I got audited in 2023 because I just blindly entered what was on my 1098. The actual tax bill from my county showed a different amount because of payment timing issues, and that's what the IRS wanted to see. Get your official property tax statement directly from your county assessor's office to be safe.

Am I the only one who thinks it's ridiculous that mortgage companies can put an asterisk like that and create all this confusion? Like, either report the number to the IRS or don't include it at all! Why put it there with a disclaimer that makes everyone panic??

Quick tip: If you're using TurboTax or H&R Block software, when you enter your 1098 information, they'll specifically ask about property taxes paid. Enter what's in Box 10 BUT ALSO have your actual property tax statements handy. The software will help reconcile any differences. I found out that my mortgage company only paid a portion of my property taxes from escrow, and I paid the rest directly to the county. If I had only claimed what was on my 1098, I would have missed out on about $2,300 in additional deductions for the portion I paid directly.