You are not required to amend to add the mortgage interest but it may benefit you to do so.
Each year, taxpayers lower their taxable income by a standard deduction or an itemized deduction. The federal standard deduction is a fixed dollar amount based on your filing status and age. The itemized deduction are personal deductions, such as mortgage interest, real estate tax, medical, charitable expense, etc. The IRS lets you choose either one, whichever benefits your most.
For example, a 2018 standard deduction for a Single individual, born after 1954, is $12,000, for married individuals is $24,000.
If your mortgage interest (along with other itemized deductions) exceed the fixed standard deduction, you may want to amend.
When the amend feature is available in TurboTax, enter the interest and other itemized deductions and the program will determine if the federal and state tax has been affected. If it has, it will be to your benefit and you amend your tax return. Otherwise, you simply delete the amendment.
