What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine!

So maybe you purchased a home with your fiance, spouse, parents, friend or business partner.  Each of you pays half (or some other portion) of the mortgage throughout the year.  When it comes time to file your taxes, you plan to file a return separate from the other person, but there is just one problem.  Then 1098 that was provided either list both of your names and the other persons SSN OR it simply just list the other parties information all together.  So how do you go about claiming your piece of what is reported on the 1098?

Figure Your Share
If you and another party (or multiple parties) were liable for, and make payments towards, a mortgage in which another party received the Form 1098, the first thing you must do is figure out each party’s share.   Technically the person that received the From 1098 should do this and provide the amounts to you, but in reality either party may do it.  So, for example, if each person paid 50% of the payments that yielded $9,825 of interest being reported on the Form 1098, then each one is entitled to deduct $4,912.50 on their tax return.

Attach A Statement To Your Return
To report the $4,912.20 of mortgage interest paid, each person should attach a statement to their tax return explaining this. Show how much of the interest each person paid, and give the name and address of the person who received the form. Your share of the interest is then reported on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 11, along with the words “See attached” next to the line.  The person may also deduct their share of any qualified mortgage insurance premiums on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 13.  If the property in question is a rental property, then you can follow the same procedures stated above, but enter “See attached” on line 12 of Schedule E.

For more information on the above, or reporting home mortgage interest in general, see Publication 936; Home Mortgage Interest Deduction  and refer to the section “How To Report.”