Why is the mortgage interest shown on my Form 1098 different from last year?

The amount of interest you pay may change from year to year, usually because of a change in your interest rate or in the number of payments we received from you during the calendar year. For instance, you may have paid less interest if you modified your loan or received payment assistance through the Homeowners Assistance Fund. This may result in a lower amount of interest showing on your Form 1098.