How Do I Get My 1098 Mortgage Interest Statement?

To get your 1098 mortgage interest statement, log in to your loan servicer’s website and download it from the tax documents section, or call the servicer and ask for a paper copy by mail. Your lender must issue the form by January 31 if you paid $600 or more in mortgage interest during the prior year.¹ If the form never shows up, you can order a Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS as a backup.

When Your Lender Has to Send It

Any business that receives $600 or more in mortgage interest from an individual during a calendar year has to report that amount to you and the IRS on Form 1098.¹ The threshold covers interest on a primary mortgage, home equity loan, or line of credit secured by your home.²

The deadline for the lender to postmark or electronically deliver the form is January 31 of the year after the payments were made.¹ Lenders that miss the deadline or send incorrect information face penalties under 26 U.S.C. § 6721, starting at $50 per form for quick corrections and climbing to $250 or more per form when not corrected at all.³

Download It From Your Servicer’s Portal

The fastest route is your servicer’s website. Before logging in, confirm who currently services your loan. Mortgages are frequently sold, so the company collecting your payments today may not be the one you closed with. Your most recent monthly statement will show the current servicer’s name and your loan account number.

If you don’t already have online access, the registration process typically asks for your loan number, the property zip code, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. Once you’re in, look for a section called “Tax Documents,” “Tax Forms,” or “Account Documents.” Pick the tax year you need and download the PDF. A digital copy pulled from the portal is a valid document for filing and record-keeping.

Request a Paper Copy

If you’d rather have a physical form or you can’t get into the portal, you have two options. Many servicers let you change your delivery preference to paper mail in your account settings, which triggers an automatic January mailing every year. You can also call customer service and ask for a duplicate. Standard mail delivery typically runs seven to ten business days. Some servicers charge a fee for duplicates of prior-year forms, though the current year’s form is usually free.

If Your Form 1098 Never Arrives

If January 31 comes and goes with no form, contact your servicer first. A missing form is often just a bad address on file, and most servicers can reissue quickly by email, portal, or mail.

If the servicer can’t or won’t produce it, request a Wage and Income Transcript from the IRS. The transcript shows data from information returns the IRS has received, including Form 1098.⁴ Three ways to order one:

Online. Register for or log into your IRS Individual Online Account at irs.gov to view, print, or download the transcript right away.
By phone. Call the IRS automated transcript service at 800-908-9946.
By mail. Submit Form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return) and allow 5 to 10 calendar days for delivery.

Wage and Income Transcripts often aren’t available until mid-to-late February, since the IRS needs time to process the returns lenders file. If you need to file before the transcript is ready, use your own payment records — monthly statements, a year-end account summary, or an amortization schedule — to calculate the interest you paid. Report mortgage interest not shown on a Form 1098 on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 8b.⁵

After a Loan Transfer or Refinance

If your loan was sold or transferred to a new servicer during the year, expect two Forms 1098. The original servicer issues one for the months it collected your payments, and the new servicer issues one covering the rest of the year. Add both amounts together when claiming your deduction.

The outgoing servicer has to notify you at least 15 days before the transfer takes effect, and the new servicer has to notify you within 15 days after.⁶ Those notices list the new servicer’s name, address, and contact information, which you’ll need if the second form doesn’t arrive.

The same two-form pattern applies if you refinanced with a different lender mid-year. The old lender reports interest received before payoff; the new lender reports interest on the refinanced loan going forward.

Getting a Prior-Year Form From a Former Servicer

If you need a Form 1098 from a past year and your loan has since been transferred or paid off, call the former servicer’s closed-account department. Have the old loan account number ready, since your online access likely ended when the account closed. Phone tends to be the most reliable channel for these requests.

Former servicers keep records for several years but aren’t required to hold them indefinitely. If the servicer has been acquired or gone out of business, the acquiring company usually inherits the records. The IRS Wage and Income Transcript covers prior years as well and works as a fallback when a former servicer is unreachable.⁴

Co-Borrowers Only Get One Form

When more than one person is on a mortgage, the lender sends a single Form 1098 to the “payer of record,” meaning the person listed as the primary borrower in the lender’s system.² That form shows the total interest received on the loan, not each borrower’s share. If you’re a co-borrower, you’ll need to get a copy from the primary borrower or directly from the servicer.

Co-borrowers who each paid part of the interest can each deduct their share on their own return. Report your portion on Schedule A, line 8b, because it won’t match the figure on the Form 1098 issued in the primary borrower’s name. Keep records showing what you personally paid.

Seller-Financed Mortgages

If you bought your home directly from the seller instead of through a bank, you may not receive a Form 1098 at all. A one-time private seller typically has no filing obligation, since the reporting rule applies to people receiving mortgage interest in the course of a trade or business. You can still deduct the interest you paid: report it on Schedule A (Form 1040), line 8b, and include the seller’s name, address, and taxpayer identification number on the dotted lines next to that line.⁵ Leaving off the seller’s taxpayer identification number can trigger a $50 penalty.

If the Form You Received Is Wrong

Compare Box 1 on your Form 1098 against your own records, whether that’s monthly statements or a year-end summary from the servicer. If the numbers don’t line up, contact the servicer’s tax department directly (not general customer service) and ask for a corrected Form 1098. Have your payment records and specific dates ready when you call.

If the servicer refuses to correct the form or drags its feet, you can still file using the actual amount you paid. Report the correct figure on Schedule A, line 8b, rather than line 8a, and hold onto documentation in case the IRS follows up. Because incorrect information returns carry penalties under federal law, mentioning that obligation sometimes speeds up a correction.³

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6050H – Returns Relating to Mortgage Interest Received in Trade or Business From Individuals
2
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1098
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6721 – Failure to File Correct Information Returns
4
Internal Revenue Service. Transcript Types for Individuals and Ways to Order Them
5
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 936 – Home Mortgage Interest Deduction
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 2605 – Servicing of Mortgage Loans and Administration of Escrow Accounts