topic Itemized vs Standard Deduction in Deductions & credits

Itemized vs Standard Deduction

retiredian — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 14:07:38 GMT

In 2019 TurboTax allowed me to itemize. In 2020 it now insists that I take the standard deduction (to my detriment) in spite of the numbers being near identical one year to the next. Has the tax code changed that much in one year? Thanks for any input.

Re: Itemized vs Standard Deduction

HelenC12 — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 16:25:56 GMT

No, the tax law is basically the same in 2020 as in 2019. We can't see your tax return to see why TurboTax is choosing the Standard Deduction however, you can manually select Itemized Deductions. Keep in mind that switching to the other federal deduction may impact your state tax return.

See How do I change from the standard deduction to itemized (or vice-versa)?

Related information:

How will tax reform affect my 2018 federal tax return?

Re: Itemized vs Standard Deduction

retiredian — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 12:51:49 GMT

Thank you for the reply. I discovered an error in the mortgage interest deduction in that the T-T program did not automatically place it on the Schedule A. Wondering why, I discovered that there was a question during the interview asking for a declaration about how the loan was secured. Answering "yes" meant the loan was secured by the mortgaged property itself (likely the normal for most average filers) and the mortgage interest was properly deducted. That fixed things in my case. I do not recall from past filings needing to do this, but it is the case this year. I do believe the interview needs to make this delineation more obvious in future iterations of TurboTax. Thank you.