2019 IRS Form 1098 - Tips to help you avoid some common mistakes

Lenders across the United States are preparing their IRS Form 1098 Mortgage Interest statements before the January 31^st deadline.  While most of the boxes are pretty obvious, there are a few gotchas on the form that might trip you up.

Using Moneylender Professional loan servicing software, the right data will be compiled and filled into the forms, and usually means that printing your 1098s each year will be quick and painless.  If you’re filling out the forms by hand, here’s some important tips:

Box 1 – Mortgage Interest Received

This number is the sum of the interest from all payments during the 2019 calendar year on the loan and any late fees that were paid by those payments.  Don’t forget to include late fees collected as part of the reported interest on form 1098.

Box 2 – Outstanding mortgage principal

This is the balance at the beginning of 2019, not at the end.  If the loan was originated or purchased in 2019, enter the opening balance of principal balance at the time of purchase in this box.  If servicing your loans with Moneylender Professional, the software will report the principal balance on the latter of January 1^st 2019, the Origination Date on the loan, or the Ownership date on the loan in box 2.

6 – Points paid

Only report the points if the loan originated during 2019.  If the loan was originated before 2019, or the points were paid to a previous owner before you bought the note, do not report points.

Happy filing, you have until January 31 to get the forms out to the borrower.  You can take until the end of February to file the official red copy of the 1098s with the IRS.  You can get official forms from the IRS for free from their website.

If you’re servicing loans, service them with Moneylender Professional.