Deductions & credits

Congratulations on the purchase of your new home!  While buying a home can lower your tax bill or help you get a bigger refund, it isn't always a guarantee.   Your deductions for homeownership combined with your other deductions (if any) must exceed your standard deduction to change your tax due or refund. If you purchased your home late in the year, you won't be eligible for a full year of home ownership deductions.

Things that cost a lot but don't play into your deductions are your down payment, homeowners insurance, your inspection, appraisal, settlement fees, and so on. If you did any repairs or improvements to your new home, it gets added to the basis.

Closing costs on your new home are not deductible except for prepaid interest, prepaid property tax or loan origination fees.  

You should have received a Form 1098.  If you entered the information and you still see an unacceptable amount of tax due, you may want to ask for an offline review.  We can examine your return to see what's happening.  The things mentioned above are just a few reasons why you may not get the benefit expected.  

If you've prepared your tax return and want to submit a written question to a tax expert you can receive a written response. You pick the part you'd like reviewed and add any questions you have for them. You'll get a response with their advice for you about a day later.

To get a written response:

1. Sign in to your TurboTax Live account.
2. As you proceed through the Review section, on the Let's get ready for your expert review screen, select Continue.
3. On the next screen, we'll check that all your calculations are correct, you have all the required tax forms, and there's no missing data. When everything is good, Continue.
4. Select Yes, I have questions about my return.
5. You'll have the opportunity to tell us about what you'd like our tax expert to focus on. It's important to be as specific as possible in your question so that your tax expert can tailor their response to your situation.
6. Select Get a written response.
7. Confirm your question and select a topic related to your question. You can even upload additional documents if you think they'll be helpful.
8. When you're ready, select Submit for review to send your question to your tax experts.

What can I expect next?

After submitting your question:

• You'll receive an email notification confirming that your question has been submitted
• You'll receive another email notification when your written response is ready, usually about 24 hours later.
• In your email, you’ll be directed to log back into TurboTax where your tax expert's written response will appear in My tax home.
• You won't be able to reply to your tax expert’s message, but they'll include instructions on what to do if you still have questions.
• No changes will have been made to your return by the tax expert, so it's up to you to consider and implement any changes your tax expert recommends.

The tax expert's message can be accessed anytime via the floating Live help button in the bottom right corner of any TurboTax Live screen. Select See my Contact History to find your written response.

Can I get talk live with a tax expert after getting a written response?

What if I haven’t heard back from a tax expert yet?

When should I get a written response?

Other important things to remember

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Remember, with TurboTax Live, you get unlimited live help personalized for your situation and reviews from real CPAs , EAs, and attorneys when you need it so you can get your maximum refund. We're here to make sure you feel 100% confident.

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