We now own a second home (my mother in laws) but there is no mortgage on it. We do pay the taxes. Is there a way to write that off? it shows no change when i put it in

[nickmerson]

I know there is a 10000$ limit for property taxes, but with this additional ~4000$ payment we are still only at 7400$ for that field, yet out tax due stays the same

[xmasbaby0]

Do your itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction?  Unless they do, you will not see a difference in your tax due or refund.

STANDARD DEDUCTION

Many taxpayers are surprised because their itemized deductions are not having the same effect as they did on past tax returns.  The new higher standard deduction and the elimination of certain deductions, as well as the cap on state and local taxes have had a major impact since the new tax laws went into effect beginning with 2018 returns.

Your itemized deductions have to be more than your standard deduction before you will see a change in your tax owed or tax refund.  The deductions you enter do not necessarily count “dollar for dollar;” many of them are subject to meeting  tough thresholds—medical expenses, for example, must meet a threshold that is pretty hard to reach.  The software program uses all the IRS rules that apply to the expenses you enter, and it tells you if you have enough to use your itemized deductions or if using the standard deduction is more advantageous for you.  Under the new tax laws, some deductions have been capped—there is a $10,000 limit to the itemized deductions for state, local, property and sales taxes.

Your standard deduction lowers your taxable income.  It is not a refund. 

2019 Standard Deduction Amounts

Single $12,200   (+ $1650 65 or older)

Married Filing Separate  $12,200   (+ $1300 if 65 or older)

Married Filing Jointly $24,400   (+ $1300 for each spouse 65 or older)

Head of Household $18,350  (+ $1650 for 65 or older)

Look on line 9 of your 2019 Form 1040 to see your itemized/standard deduction amount

[nickmerson]

Yes, with this extra tax burden added, we should be over the 24000 standard deduction. However, its not even counting it because of this phantom 10000$ limit that is where you max out supposedly. Even that doesn't make sense though, because we went from 3K (on our home) to 7K (when we add the taxes in from the second home) with no changes to our tax due

[xmasbaby0]

You said no mortgage interest on second home. So  at less than 8K of state, local, and property tax you are still way shy of exceeding the $24,400 standard deduction.  Medical expenses only count the amount that is OVER 7.5% of your AGI, so that is a hard one to get at all.  What other itemized deductions did you enter?

Look on line 9 of your Form 1040.  What do you see?

If you want to see the result of "forcing" itemized deductions:

HOW TO FORCE ITEMIZED DEDUCTIONS

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900142-how-do-i-change-from-the-standard-deduction-to-itemized-or...

[nickmerson]

Before adding the extra tax, we were at 22,400 for our itemized deductions. I then added 4K of additional taxes. 

However, the issue is NOT that we aren't reaching the standard deduction threshhold...its that we are somehow OVER the 10K threshold for what we can claim on property taxes...which of course doesnt make sense since we only have about 7500.  So turbotax wont even let me count the 4K that would theoretically push us over the SD by a good bit

[nickmerson]

(Im trying to keep this simple....i have a side business among a lot of other things that add up. Didn't want to get into all that - but the point is that we were close to 24.4K as it was, and in fact specifically took on paying these extra taxes for the 2nd home BECAUSE we thought it would allow us to itemize)

[Critter-3]

Ok ... if you are just looking at the summary of the deductions and credits section then you are not getting the true picture ... the program combines the deductions  & the CREDITS and the Sch A only has deductions ... Please review the actual return and Sch A and force the Sch A if needed to review it. 

Another situation ... it is possible that your income tax is already at zero so adding more deductions will do nothing for you at all ... again review the return. 

[nickmerson]

Oh no, we owe about 4,000, but i think I take your point about viewing the summary part only. Thanks for your help so far either way. 

[Critter-3]

What you owe may not be from income taxes which the Sch A can only help with ... review the entire return ...

You can peek at only  the Federal form 1040 and the summary of the state info by going here:

1) lower- Left side of the screen...click to the left side of the "Tax Tools" text selection.
2)  then select "Tools"
3) then select "View Tax Summary" from the pop-up
4) then back to the left-side and "Preview 1040"

Then hit the "Back" on the left side to get back to your tax entries.

To view your entire return using the online editions (including the state) before you file, you will need to pay for your online account.

To pay the TurboTax online account fees by credit card, without completing the 2019 return at this time, click on Tax Tools >>> Tools  and then Print Center.  Then click on Print, save or preview this year's return.  On the next page, to pay by credit card, click Continue.  On the next screen it will ask if you want Audit Defense, if you do not want this option just click on the Continue button.  The next screen will ask for all your credit card information so you can pay for the account.