Form 8396 (2019)
Page 2
General Instructions
Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to Form 8396
and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were
published, go to www.irs.gov/Form8396.
Purpose of Form
Use Form 8396 to figure the mortgage interest credit for 2019 and
any credit carryforward to 2020.
Who Can Claim the Credit
You can claim the credit only if you were issued a qualified
Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) by a state or local governmental
unit or agency under a qualified mortgage credit certificate
program.
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CAUTION
Homestead Staff Exemption Certificates, and certificates
issued by the Federal Housing Administration,
Department of Veterans Affairs, and Farmers Home
Administration, do not qualify for the credit.
The home to which the certificate relates must be your main
home and must also be located in the jurisdiction of the
governmental unit that issued the certificate.
If the interest on the mortgage was paid to a related person, you
cannot claim the credit.
Refinanced Mortgage
You can refinance your mortgage without losing this credit if your
existing MCC is reissued and the reissued certificate meets all of
the following conditions.
• It must be issued to the holder(s) of the existing certificate for the
same property.
• It must entirely replace the existing certificate. The holder cannot
retain any portion of the outstanding balance of the existing
certificate.
• The certified indebtedness on the reissued certificate cannot
exceed the outstanding balance shown on the existing certificate.
• The credit rate of the reissued certificate cannot exceed the credit
rate of the existing certificate.
• The reissued certificate cannot result in a larger amount on line 3
than would otherwise have been allowable under the existing
certificate for any tax year.
For each tax year, you must determine the amount of credit that
you would have been allowed using your original MCC. To do this,
multiply the interest that was scheduled to be paid on your original
mortgage by the certificate rate on your original MCC. The result
may limit your line 3 credit allowed when you have a reissued MCC,
even if your new loan has a lower interest rate.
If the certificate credit rates are different in the year you
refinanced, attach a statement showing separate calculations for
lines 1, 2, and 3 for the applicable parts of the year when the
original MCC and the reissued MCC were in effect. Combine the
amounts from both calculations for line 3. Enter that total on line 3
of the form and enter “see attached” on the dotted line next to
line 2.
For more details, see Regulations section 1.25-3(p).
Recapture of Credit
If you buy a home using an MCC and sell it within 9 years, you may
have to recapture (repay) some of the credit. See Pub. 523, Selling
Your Home; and Form 8828, Recapture of Federal Mortgage
Subsidy.
Additional Information
See Pub. 530, Tax Information for Homeowners, for more details.
Specific Instructions
Part I—Current Year Mortgage Interest Credit
Line 1
Enter the interest you paid during the year on the loan amount
(certified indebtedness amount) shown on your MCC. In most
cases, this will be the amount in box 1 on Form 1098, Mortgage
Interest Statement, or on a similar statement you received from your
mortgage holder. If the loan amount on your MCC is less than your
total mortgage loan, you must allocate the interest to determine the
part that relates to the loan covered by the MCC. See Pub. 530 for
an example of how to allocate the interest.
Line 2
The certificate credit rate cannot be less than 10% or more than 50%.
Line 3
If you refinanced, see Refinanced Mortgage on this page.
If the certificate credit rate shown on line 2 is more than 20%,
multiply line 1 by line 2, but do not enter more than $2,000 on line 3.
If you and someone else (other than your spouse if filing jointly) held
an interest in the home, the $2,000 limit must be allocated to each
owner in proportion to the interest held. See Dividing the Credit in
Pub. 530 for an example of how to make the allocation.
Reduction of home mortgage interest deduction on Schedule A
(Form 1040 or 1040-SR). If you itemize your deductions on Schedule
A, you must reduce the amount of home mortgage interest you would
otherwise deduct on Schedule A by the amount on Form 8396, line 3,
and report the reduced amount on Schedule A. You must do this
even if part of the amount on line 3 is carried forward to 2020.
Line 8—Credit Limit Worksheet
Keep for Your Records
1. Enter the amount from Form 1040 or Form
1040-SR, line 12b; or Form 1040-NR, line 45 .
1.
2. Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR filers: Enter the
amounts from Schedule 3 (Form 1040 or
1040-SR), lines 1 through 4; line 14 of the Line
14 Worksheet in Pub. 972*; Form 5695, line 30**;
Form 8910, line 15**; Form 8936, line 23; and
Schedule R (Form 1040 or 1040-SR), line 22.
Form 1040-NR filers: Enter the amounts from
Form 1040-NR, lines 46 through 48; line 14 of
the Line 14 Worksheet in Pub. 972*; Form 5695,
line 30**; Form 8910, line 15**; and Form 8936,
line 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.
3. Subtract line 2 from line 1. Enter this amount on
Form 8396, line 8. If zero or less, enter -0- here
and on Form 8396, lines 8 and 9, and go to Part
II of Form 8396 . . . . . . . . . .
3.
*
If you are filing Form 2555, enter instead the amount, if any, from
line 16 of the Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents
Worksheet in Pub. 972. If you are not claiming the child tax credit
and credit for other dependents, you do not need Pub. 972.
**
If applicable.
Part II—Mortgage Interest Credit Carryforward to 2020
If the amount on line 9 is less than the amount on line 7, you may
have an unused credit to carry forward to the next 3 tax years or
until used, whichever comes first. The current year credit is used first
and then the prior year credits, beginning with the earliest prior year.
If you have any unused credit to carry forward to 2020, keep a
copy of this form to figure your credit for 2020.
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CAUTION
If you are subject to the $2,000 credit limit because your
certificate credit rate is more than 20%, no amount over
the $2,000 limit (or your prorated share of the $2,000 if
you must allocate the credit) may be carried forward for
use in a later year.
