@rlaub wrote:
Solution 1: Prorate Property Tax Manually (Most Reliable)
Instead of entering the full property tax amount for both, split the total tax between the two Schedule C businesses.
- Form 8829 - Business 1: Enter 50% of your total property taxes.
- Form 8829 - Business 2: Enter the remaining 50% of your total property taxes.
- Check the Box: Ensure you check the box that says "Real estate taxes entered here were already entered on another home office".
Solution 2: Enter as "Excess" Real Estate Taxes
If the above method still triggers an error, you can enter the portion of taxes that should be allocated to the home office as "Excess real estate taxes" on the form.
- On the Form 8829 (in Forms Mode), find the line for indirect real estate taxes.
Move the amount that is being wrongly calculated as a total deduction into the "Excess real estate taxes" field.
The part about 50 percent is the problem
Solution 3: Use "Forms Mode" to Bypass
If you are using the Desktop version, you can manually override the calculation:
- Go to Forms Mode.
- Open Form 8829.
- Check the "Line 8 Calculation Smart Worksheet" and ensure your percentage of business use of the home office is correctly entered (e.g., if you spend all your time there, it should be 100%).
- If the total tax is still erroneously high, manually edit the indirect tax line to reflect only the proper percentage allocated to each business.
Important Notes
- Do Not Enter Twice: Make sure you do not enter the full property tax in the "Deductions and Credits" > "Property Tax" section and again in the Home Office section. The home office portion should be handled only within the Home Office/Form 8829 section.
E-File vs. Paper: If TurboTax continues to show an error but the numbers on your Forms 8829 and Schedule A (Itemized Deductions) are actually correct, you may still be able to e-file.
If these methods do not work, it is recommended to delete both Form 8829 entries and re-enter them carefully using Solution 1.
@rlaub wrote:
I am also itemizing. Why do you think you can't use this method?
Well first of all, you can't use excess real estate taxes if you are itemizing, so that option is out.
With respect to the other options, when I was with the real estate expert on the phone, we went through several other scenarios (including the options you laid out), and no matter what changes we made, none of them gave us the right numbers in the end, they always changed how much refund I was entitled to. So my option is to file on paper (since I can't get past the error with correct numbers to e-file) or wait until she gets back to me. Since I still have a month to file, I'm going to hang tight.
