Investors & landlords

No, you have not done anything wrong; it is very common.   You have not entered enough itemized deductions to surpass the amount of your standard deduction.  If you purchased the home later in the year, you only have a few months of interest instead of a full year.   Next year, you will have a full year of deductions.   Ignore that if you bought the house in January....

You would assume that entering thousands of dollars' worth of mortgage interest and real estate (property) taxes would have some effect on your refund, but it's just sitting there, refusing to budge.   Or maybe it did move (a little), but not nearly as much as you had expected. Click here to read what's going on?

If your refund doesn't budge after you've entered your medical expenses, charitable contributions, mortgage interest, sales taxes, or your state, local, or property taxes, it's probably because your Standard Deduction is currently higher than your itemized deductions. We automatically select the deduction that works best in your favor.   Why doesn't my refund increase when I enter deductions?

There are deductions available to you as a homeowner that can reduce your tax bill.   Here are some other things to keep in mind:

• If you itemize your deductions, you may be able to deduct property taxes, mortgage interest, loan interest, points, and home improvements required for medical care.
• Save receipts and records for all improvements you make to your home. While you can’t deduct home improvement expenses now, their cost can reduce your gain—along with any capital-gains tax—if you sell in the future.
• If you sold your home to buy this one, you won’t pay taxes on the first $250,000 (also known as a gain) as long as you owned the home and it was your main home for at least two years within the five years leading up to the sale. If you file jointly, you won't pay taxes on the first $500,000.

Please see - - I bought a house, what can I deduct?