Q. When I completed a mortgage modification with Wells Fargo, it rolled all the past-due interest from 2009 into the new principal of the note. But none of that interest is reflected on my 1098 mortgage interest statement. I called and spoke with them on the phone and complained. They said that I did not pay the interest. My response was that when they increased my principal, that was a payment of interest. Who's right?

A. We checked with an Internal Revenue Service representative who specializes in deductions, and he agrees with Wells Fargo.

The unpaid interest added to the principal of your loan remains unpaid and can't be subtracted from your taxable income.

The mortgage interest tax deduction is only available for interest you incur and pay. It's not available for interest you incur but don't pay.

Nothing in the Making Home Affordable program or any legislation Congress has passed dealing with the mortgage crisis has addressed or changed that.