Mortgage interest tax deduction after inheriting home - PNC bank issues complicating my taxes

This situation is definitely tricky, but we can figure it out! When a property transfers through inheritance, there's often confusion about the mortgage interest deduction. For tax purposes, the name on the tax form matters. The form showing "Estate of [deceased person]" represents interest paid while the mortgage was still legally in the estate's name, even though you were the one writing the checks. The second form will cover interest paid after the mortgage was officially in your name. You have two options: 1) Claim only the interest from the form in your name on your personal taxes, or 2) File a final estate tax return and claim the interest from the "Estate of" form there, then claim your personal portion on your own return. Since you paid all the mortgage payments personally, you might be able to claim the full amount, but you'd need to attach a statement explaining the situation with your tax return. The IRS generally cares about who legally owned the debt, not who made the payments.

Just wanted to share my experience with a similar situation. I had a nightmare with mortgage interest deductions after inheriting my mom's house. I was ready to tear my hair out dealing with the bank and IRS forms, then I found this AI tax assistant at https://taxr.ai that completely saved me. You upload your tax documents (like those mortgage interest forms), and it analyzes everything and tells you exactly how to handle unusual situations like yours. It spotted issues with my inheritance documents I would have completely missed and saved me from making a costly mistake with the interest deduction. Given your situation with forms in different names but you making all the payments, I think it would really help clarify exactly what you can claim and how to document it properly.

I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here, and it was seriously helpful with my inherited property tax mess. My situation was different but equally confusing - I had a mortgage that was still in my deceased father's name for several months while the bank dragged their feet. The system asked me detailed questions about who made payments when, walked me through exactly how to handle the split tax forms, and even generated the explanation statement I needed to attach to my return. It identified that I could claim the interest I paid even though one form wasn't in my name by using a specific IRS exception. Honestly saved me hundreds compared to what I would have paid an accountant, and the peace of mind knowing it was handling all the inheritance-specific rules was worth it alone.

I had a similar issue with PNC after inheriting property from my grandfather last year. If you're still dealing with them, good luck getting anyone helpful on the phone. I spent WEEKS trying to reach someone who could answer my questions about the mortgage interest statements. After getting nowhere, I used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual human at PNC who could help. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c but basically they navigate the phone system and wait on hold for you, then call when they get a real person. The IRS representative I finally talked to confirmed I could claim the interest I paid even though the form had the estate's name on it, but I needed specific documentation. Might be worth calling them directly about your situation so you don't have to guess.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but that Claimyr service actually worked. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it since I was desperate to talk to the IRS about a similar inherited property issue. Got a call back in about an hour saying they had an IRS agent on the line. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to do with my inherited property tax forms and explained I needed to include a written statement with my return explaining who actually made the payments versus whose name was on the form. Saved me from guessing and potentially getting hit with an audit. Still think the IRS phone system is ridiculous, but at least there's a way around it now.

One important thing no one's mentioned yet - don't forget about the property tax deduction too, not just mortgage interest! When I inherited my aunt's house, I found out I could deduct the property taxes I paid even while the house title was still being transferred. Make sure you're tracking all the property tax payments separately from the mortgage interest. Some banks include property tax in the mortgage payment and some don't. You'll want to claim both deductions if possible.

PNC is absolutely terrible with inherited mortgages. I went through something similar and ended up having to get a tax attorney involved because they sent conflicting tax forms. For what it's worth, my attorney said that mortgage interest can be deducted by whoever actually paid it, regardless of whose name is on the form, BUT you need proper documentation showing you made the payments. Save all your bank statements showing the mortgage payments coming from your account. Also, the tax rules changed a bit in recent years - you can only deduct interest on up to $750,000 of qualified residence loans now (used to be $1 million), so make sure that's not an issue if it's a high-value property.