TurboTax continues to ask about home refinance

[lildog006]

I did a home refi in 2018 and reported it on my 2018 taxes.  Do I have to continue to report that specific refi on my 2020 taxes?  Specifically, as of the 2018 refi, does it become the "original mortgage" as TurboTax would see it since the question related to this is asking if I ever did a refi versus if I did a refi the previous year.

Thanks

[Cynthiad66]

Something to keep in mind is that refinancing your mortgage can significantly reduce your total tax deductions. Refinancing to a lower mortgage rate means you'll be paying less interest, which means you'll have less mortgage interest to deduct when tax time comes around. The difference can be substantial.

When refinancing a mortgage to get a lower interest rate or obtain more favorable loan terms, you're really just taking out a new loan and using the money to pay off your existing home loan. In general, the same tax deductions are available when you're refinancing a mortgage as when you're taking out a mortgage to buy a home.

[lildog006]

Thanks for the response, but I think you may have misunderstood the question.  Let me try to re-word it better ..... After reporting a home refinance on federal taxes in 2018, does one have to continue reporting the same home refinance on future subsequent federal tax filings (i.e. 2020 federal tax filing)?

[RayW7]

Cynthiad66 is correct in her response, however to add to your continued question...

No, in 2018 you paid off that mortgage and refinanced a new mortgage.

Going forward just report the information from your current mortgage on your home. 

[CLeiner]

I am also confused by the instructions and the responses here. 

Quoting TurboTax 2021 prompt, "Is this the ORIGINAL loan you used to buy your property?" [Emphasis added.] 

The term "original" by definition means "present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest", inferred to mean not ever refinanced.  So, how do I answer this?  I bought my home in 2014;  in 2016, I refinanced the loan; and, I am still paying the 2016 loan in 2022.  When I answer the posed question regarding my 2021 tax filing, do I select Yes (this is my original) or No (this is not my original)? 

[RaifH]

Select No. Since this was refinanced in 2016, it is not the original loan used to purchase the property. Even if you were to refinance the loan again, it still would not be the original loan. The original loan was the one you held back in 2014.

The reason TurboTax asks this is because different loan limits apply to different years based on when the loan was originally taken out. Home loans originally taken out prior to December 15, 2017 have a $1 million limit before the deductible interest starts to be limited, whereas home loans after that only have a $750,000 limit.