[greglepore]

Who gets the 1098 has little to nothing to do with it. To take the deduction you must a) be legally obligated to pay it -meaning you must actually be on the mortgage/note and b) you must have actually paid it. If its paid out of a joint account, usually one person or the other if free to take 100% or the parties can split it, but never exceed 100%. If A writes the check, A takes it unless B has a paper trail that he paid A a portion of it-ie checks or some other record showing transfer of funds.