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New Member
posted Jul 3, 2019 9:35:23 PM

I am being audited for 2017 federal taxes. I need to know how to get evidence of schedule A lines 5,6,7,10.

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2 Replies
Level 15
Jul 4, 2019 8:24:03 AM

Look at your Sch A ... on those lines requested :  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-prior/f1040sa--2017.pdf

 

You had to enter those amounts in the program ... where did you get them from ?

 

5) State income taxes  are on W-2 & 1099-R forms usually but could be from other places like estimates

6) RE taxes ...  look at the 1098 or your paid tax bill

7) Personal Property taxes ... only you know what these were on 

10)  the Mortgage interest ... look at the 1098

 

Send copies of those forms as requested. 

Level 15
Jul 4, 2019 8:57:39 AM

Most of the items you are asking about would have come from tax reporting forms that were sent to both you and the IRS, such as a W-2 or a Form 1098. The IRS would not question them unless the amounts on your tax return are different from the amounts on the reporting forms that you received. That could happen if you entered something incorrectly, if the Social Security number on a tax reporting form is wrong, or, less likely, if someone sent a tax reporting form to you but did not also send it to the IRS. The primary "evidence" is the tax reporting forms that you received. You would have had those before you prepared your tax return.

 

Line 5 - Did you deduct income tax or sales tax? Which box is checked on Schedule A line 5? If box "a" is checked you deducted state and local income tax. It probably comes primarily from box 17 of your W-2, and possibly also from box 19. The W-2 that you received from your employer is the evidence. If you made other state or local income tax payments, such as state estimated tax payments or a payment with your 2016 state tax return, the evidence would be a bank statement or a copy of the canceled check showing the payment. If state tax was withheld on a 1099-series form, such as a 1099-R, the 1099 form is the evidence. State withholding on a 1099 is not common. In TurboTax, the State and Local columns of the Tax Payments Worksheet show everything that is included in the income tax amount on Schedule A line 5.

 

If box "b" is checked on Schedule A line 5 you deducted sales tax. Did you use the IRS sales tax tables, or did you add up the actual sales tax on all your receipts? You don't need any evidence if you used the IRS tables, but the IRS might be questioning the amount of income that you used in calculating the sales tax deduction. If you included any nontaxable income that does not appear on your tax return, you would need evidence of that income. If you added sales tax on certain specified items, such as a car, the evidence would be a copy of the bill of sale showing the sales tax that you paid. If you used actual sales tax instead of the IRS tables, the evidence is the receipts showing the sales tax.

 

Line 6 - Real estate tax - If your real estate tax was paid by the mortgage lender from an escrow account, the amount should be shown on the Form 1098 that the lender sent you, or an a separate statement that accompanied the Form 1098. The evidence is the Form 1098 or other statement from the lender. If you paid the real estate tax yourself directly to the municipality, the evidence is your canceled checks or the receipts from the municipality. The receipts might be stamped on the back of your tax bill.

 

Line 7 - Personal property tax - Personal property tax is not real estate tax. It's tax that you paid on the value of personal property, such as a car or boat, not your home or other real estate. Did you mistakenly enter your real estate tax as personal property tax? That would make the deductions not match the information that the IRS has. If you paid personal property tax, the evidence would be a bill or a statement from registering your car, and a canceled check, bank statement, or credit card statement showing the payment. Only some states have personal property tax on car registration, and in those state, only a portion of the registration fee is personal property tax. For more information about deducting car registration fees, see the FAQ at the following link.

Is my car registration fee deductible?

 

Line 10 - Mortgage interest - The amount of mortgage interest that you paid comes straight from box 1 of the Form 1098 that you got from your mortgage lender. Points in box 6 might also have been included in some circumstances. The evidence is the Form 1098.

 

When you send your evidence to the IRS, send only copies, not the original documents.