To find out whether you paid points on your mortgage, pull out the Closing Disclosure you received before signing and turn to page 2: under “Loan Costs,” in section “A. Origination Charges,” any discount points appear on a line labeled with a percentage of the loan amount and a dollar figure. If that line is blank or missing, you did not pay points. Your annual Form 1098 from your loan servicer also reports qualifying points in Box 6, and older loans record them on a HUD-1 Settlement Statement.
What Counts as Points
Two different charges get called “points,” and both show up in the same part of your closing paperwork. Discount points are prepaid interest: you pay money at closing to buy a lower interest rate for the life of the loan. Origination fees cover the lender’s cost of processing the application.
For the purpose of confirming what you paid, what matters is that the charge is calculated as a percentage of the loan principal and is clearly labeled as “points,” “loan discount,” “discount points,” or “loan origination fee” on your settlement paperwork.1Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 504, Home Mortgage Points Charges that stand in for other closing costs, such as appraisal, title, or attorney fees, are not points even if a lender uses the word.
One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. On a $300,000 mortgage, one point is $3,000.
Check Page 2 of Your Closing Disclosure
The Closing Disclosure is the five-page form your lender delivered at least three business days before closing.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure FAQs Because it reflects the money actually exchanged at closing, it is the most reliable record of what you paid.
Turn to page 2. Under the “Loan Costs” table, look at “A. Origination Charges.” Discount points appear as a line item written as “__% of Loan Amount (Points),” with the dollar cost in the column to the right.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Closing Disclosure The sample Closing Disclosure published by the CFPB, for instance, shows “0.25% of Loan Amount (Points)” and a $405 charge. Other origination fees, such as an application or underwriting fee, sit on separate lines within the same section.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1026.37 – Content of Disclosures for Certain Mortgage Transactions (Loan Estimate)
If the points line is blank, shows $0, or does not appear at all, you did not pay discount points.
Cross-Check the Loan Estimate
The Loan Estimate is the earlier document your lender sent within three business days of receiving your application. It uses the same layout as the Closing Disclosure, so points appear in the same place: page 2, under “Origination Charges.”5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Are Mortgage Origination Services? What Is an Origination Fee?
Points fall under a zero-tolerance rule, which means the charge at closing generally cannot exceed the amount disclosed on the Loan Estimate.6eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.19 – Certain Mortgage and Variable-Rate Transactions The main exception is when your interest rate had not been locked at the time of the estimate; the lender must issue a revised Loan Estimate within three business days of the lock, and the point figure can change then.
Look at Box 6 of Form 1098
Each January or February, your loan servicer sends you IRS Form 1098, the Mortgage Interest Statement. Box 6 is labeled “Points Paid on Purchase of Principal Residence.” If you paid qualifying discount points when you bought your primary home, the dollar amount shows up there.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. December 2026)
The lender is required to report points in Box 6 only when the payment meets all of the following:
- The settlement statement identifies the charge as “points,” “loan discount,” “discount points,” or “loan origination fee.”
- The charge was calculated as a percentage of the loan principal.
- The amount does not exceed what is customary in the area where the loan was made.
- The loan is secured by the borrower’s principal residence and was used to buy it.
- The funds came from the borrower (or the seller), not from borrowed money.
Reporting is also triggered only when total points plus other mortgage interest reach at least $600 for the year.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. December 2026)
An Empty Box 6 Doesn’t Always Mean Zero
Lenders are not required to report points in Box 6 in several common situations, so a blank box does not settle the question. Points may still have been paid if any of the following apply:
- The loan was a refinance, including a refinance of seller-financed debt.
- The loan is a home equity line of credit, even if secured by your primary home.
- The proceeds were used to improve a home rather than to buy one.
- The loan is on a second home, vacation property, or investment property.
- The points substituted for costs normally listed separately, such as appraisal or title fees.
- The points relate to the portion of a loan above $750,000 in acquisition debt.
In any of these cases, go back to the Closing Disclosure or HUD-1 to confirm.7Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1098 (Rev. December 2026)
Older Loans: The HUD-1 Settlement Statement
Mortgages that closed before October 2015, and some specialized products such as reverse mortgages, used a HUD-1 Settlement Statement instead of a Closing Disclosure.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1024.8 – Use of HUD-1 or HUD-1A Settlement Statements On the HUD-1, points sit in the 800 series on page 2:
- Line 801 records the lender’s overall origination charge, without discount points.
- Line 802 records the credit or charge for the specific interest rate you chose. This is where discount points appear.
- Line 803 shows the adjusted origination charge, combining lines 801 and 802.
A positive dollar amount on line 802 confirms you paid points to lower your rate.9Legal Information Institute. 12 CFR Appendix A to Part 1024 – Instructions for Completing HUD-1 and HUD-1a Settlement Statements A negative number on that line means the opposite: the lender gave you a higher rate in exchange for a credit against your closing costs.
If You Cannot Find Your Documents
Start with your mortgage servicer’s online portal. Many servicers post closing documents for download. If yours does not, call the servicer or the original lender and ask for a copy of the Closing Disclosure or HUD-1. Federal rules require the creditor to keep the Closing Disclosure on file for five years after closing, and when a loan is sold or transferred, the current servicer takes on that retention obligation for the remainder of the period.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1026.25 – Record Retention
For Form 1098, you can request a wage and income transcript from the IRS for the year in question, since 1098 data is included. Your servicer should also be able to reissue the form.
Paying Points and Deducting Them Are Different Questions
Confirming that you paid points is not the same as confirming you can deduct them. The deduction is available only if you itemize on Schedule A rather than take the standard deduction, and it applies only to mortgage debt up to $750,000 ($375,000 if married filing separately), a limit made permanent starting in 2026.11Internal Revenue Service. Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction Points paid to buy a principal residence are generally deductible in the year paid when several conditions are met; points paid on a refinance are generally spread over the life of the new loan.1Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 504, Home Mortgage Points Once you know from your paperwork that points were paid, those rules determine what, if anything, you can claim.