All Posts

2025 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS SINGLE $15,750  (65 or older/legally blind + $2000) MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $15,750  (65 or older/legally blind +1600) MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $31,500  (65 or older/legally blind + $1600) HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD $23,625 (65 or older/legally blind + $2000)     For 2025 through 2028 there is an extra  deduction amount of up to $6000 per individual 65 or older filing Single, MFJ, or HOH which is phased out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers.   The $6,000 senior deduction will be calculated on 1040 Schedule 1-A page 2 Part V Enhanced Deduction for Seniors which goes to 1040 line 13b. It is separate and in addition to the Standard Deduction or your Itemized Deductions on 1040 line 12e.  Turbo Tax automatically includes it. IRS Schedule 1-A https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f1040s1a--dft.pdf  

Where I live, most of that stuff now needs to be ordered directly from irs.gov.  Happily they are good with filling our the orders and ship at no cost.  Funny you should mention doing it manually.  Been there, too.  In fact, I think I might order the forms this year to see if I could fill them out and arrive at the same outcome as Turbo Tax!

There are several deductions that are limited. For Medical you can only deduct the amount OVER 7.5% of your AGI. And the max for SALT (State and Local Tax) is 40,000. I think there is a limit on Charity too.  Are you a dependent or filing as Married filing Separate?  If it's giving you the Standard Deduction and not showing you Schedule A you can check the actual amount of itemized deductions by using by going to Tax Tools on left Tools - Topic Search (top left box) Type in itemized deductions, choosing. It should highlight that in the list, click on GO   Then Click on "Change my deduction". That will display the actual amount of itemized deductions vs. the standard deduction. (Be sure to uncheck "Change my deduction" after checking it so you do not lock in the wrong deduction.

Did you click that big orange button that said “Transmit my return now?”  If you did that, you cannot do anything to fix it yet.  You have to wait for the email that tells you if your return was accepted or rejected.   Since the IRS will not begin to accept/reject returns until January 26, you are going to be waiting in “pending” for awhile.  Your return is sitting on a server, where you cannot fix  it or get it back.   You cannot change or add anything on the return that you just e-filed, nor can you stop it.  It is too late, just like when you put an envelope in a US mailbox on the corner.  The IRS does not allow you to take it back.   If you left out a W-2, a 1099G, or a dependent, or a 1099 etc…DO NOT change your return while it is “pending.”  The changes will go nowhere.   Now you have to wait until the IRS either rejects or accepts your return.  If your return is rejected, you will be able to go into your account and make the necessary changes to your tax return and re-submit your return.     If the IRS accepts your return, however, then you have to wait longer until it has been fully processed and you have received your refund.  THEN you can prepare an amended tax return and e-file or mail  it in. You have to be able to work from that return exactly the way it was when it was e-filed originally.  You will need to use a form called a 1040X.     Meanwhile, DO NOT go in and start changing anything on your return in the system, or you will make a mess for yourself.  Sit tight and wait until you see what the IRS does with the return you just e-filed   The Form 1040X you need becomes available in late February,  But wait until your return has been processed.  

You will have to wait for the IRS to either Accept or Reject your filed federal tax return. If the return is rejected you can make the necessary changes and e-file again. If the return is accepted you will have to amend your original tax return. An amended return, Form 1040-X, can only be printed and mailed to the IRS if the original tax return was not e-filed. The IRS will take up to 20 weeks or longer to process an amended tax return. Before starting to amend the tax return, wait for the tax refund to be received or the taxes due to be paid and processed by the IRS. See this TurboTax support FAQ for amending a current year tax return - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/amend-federal-tax-return-current-year/L7eS6o1qh_US_en_US?uid=lfunevhk

Here is a link to the IRS Publication that has the EIC chart https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p596.pdf The charts showing the EIC amounts for various filing status and income levels are on page 29- 38   On what page do you see EIC of over $4000 for HOH with one child?  

In most cases the recipient doesn't need to send it in with their return since that only applies when there is state withholding AND when they are mailing (not e-filing) their return.    For this reason you can send to the recipient just Copy B for their records.