I'm using 2025 Home and Business Desktop and am working on Form 8829 (Office in Home Deduction for Sch C). My husband and I have four businesses and file four Sch C's, with four Form 8829's. We also have a small rental on our property (Sch E). Normally TurboTax has done a good job of properly carving up home real estate taxes first: to Sch E, the balance to each Form 8829, and then what remains is carried to Sch A. The calculation is presented on the Tax and Interest Deduction Worksheet line 2.
This year there is a problem, and it is with Form 8829.
On Form 8829, home real estate taxes (along with other home maintenance expenses) are normally prorated, based on a calculation (sq footage of office vs sq footage of home). This requires 100% of the real estate taxes paid to be entered on line 11 in the "Indirect Expenses" column for EACH Form 8829. The proration percentage is applied and the result is added to other prorated home expenses for that Form 8829.
This year, TurboTax is generating an error message if the total of the real estate tax amounts entered in the indirect expense column on ALL Form 8829's exceeds $40,000. Bear in mind that each Form 8829 requires the entry of 100% of taxes paid in the indirect expense column, so if someone (like me) has four Form 8829's, it is highly likely that 4x the total property taxes one pays these days will exceed $40,000, and this is setting off a warning flag. (And yes, I did first go through Step-by-Step and check the box for each 8829 that the property tax amount being entered is also entered on another Form 8829.)
I know this is where the error lies because if I remove the the real estate tax amount from just one Form 8829, the error message disappears from all. I tried entering the prorated amount only in the direct expense column of the form, but this causes an error because the amount of real estate taxes entered in the direct expense column doesn't carry to the Tax and Interest Deduction Worksheet line 2, and the proper balance doesn't carry to Sch A.
I've been running this calculation for years, and this is the first time I've gotten this error. I went back to the Home & Business 2024 and reviewed my entries and they are identical to those I entered this year. But there was no error last year. Because this is showing up in final return review, it prevents me from being able to e-File.
Help!
