Thank you for sharing your token number.
I was able to take a closer look at your return to see what is happening with regard to the charging station credit when you change from the standard deduction to itemized deductions.
The change is actually happening in the calculation of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). As stated earlier, if your tentative AMT is greater than your 'regular' tax, then the charging station credit will be disallowed. When you change from using the standard deduction to itemized deductions, the calculation of the AMT goes from being higher than your regular tax (disallowing the charging station credit) to lower than the regular tax so that you can claim the credit.
Without going into too much detail, the AMT is a parallel tax system that uses different deductions than the regular tax system. As a result, Form 6251 AMT adds back certain things that were deducted in the regular tax system. If you use the standard deduction, that amount is added back (Form 6251 line 2a) resulting in a higher AMT calculation. If you use itemized deductions, then only the amount claimed on Schedule A line 7 is added back instead of everything claimed on Schedule A. This amount is a lower number than the standard deduction and therefore the AMT calculation is lower. This is what allows you to claim the credit.
All of these calculations are done in the background to see if you are subject to AMT or not. Even if you are not subject to AMT, it can affect whether or not you are allowed to claim this credit.
So, in your case, your curiosity was a good thing, and claiming itemized deductions made a significant difference in your return.
One last note, Form 8911 is not yet available to be filed. According to the forms availability article, it is coming soon though.
IRS forms availability table for TurboTax individual (personal) tax products
@rgonyer
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