My fiancé and I own a townhome that is in both of our names. Our loan is a 7 year arm broken up into two separate mortgages. Each month, we pay about one thousand dollars for the first mortgage and another four hundred dollars for the second mortgage. Combined, we paid about 13,000 for interest this year. We received two separate 1098s this year, one for the first mortgage and one for the second mortgage. However, only the first mortgage has real estate taxes on it, is this normal? I also worked a lot of side jobs this year that involved the use of several 1099s. I am praying to find the best way to file our home to avoid me having to pay these taxes back. In this situation, what would be the best way to file our home? Should I just claim the home myself to counter-act me owing anything from my 1099s? Somebody told me that only the first person listed on the mortgage can claim the house, is this false? Sorry, to get some thorough answers I wanted to post some thorough questions!

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Yes, it is normal for the escrow account that pays the real estate taxes and insurance be set up under the FIRST mortgage.

As for claiming the mortgage interest and real estate tax deductions, if you are BOTH on the loan and therefore equally liable for paying the loan, you can split the interest between you anyway you want. Just make sure that your combined deduction does NOT exceed the total interest paid.