Hi Dave,
I am using the software version on my local Mac OS X machine, but fear not, I've figured this out, and will explain in case any one else stumbles across this post in a Google search. Thank you for replying, I appreciate it.
In short, my (federal) itemized deduction was only slightly higher than the standard federal deduction of $12,550. The District of Columbia (DC) requires taxpayers to use the same type of deduction as they do on their federal taxes. However, it calculates the itemized deduction very differently. So while my federal deduction was (just) greater than $12,550, itemizing made my DC deduction many thousands of dollars *less* than $12,550.
By switching to the standard deduction, I increased my federal tax bill only slightly, but that loss is offset many times over by being able to deduct the full $12,550 on my DC tax return, instead of a smaller amount.
Thanks!
