topic Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though credits are way over $25k. in Deductions & credits

Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though credits are way over $25k.

dasmodul — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 05:08:04 GMT

I swear there was some major debacle with a mortgage interest bug last year too!

I'm sitting here looking at at least $29k-33k in itemized deductions and my federal owed won't move at all because it's using the standard deduction (supposedly).

This is even accounting for the $10k SALT limit on property taxes. Otherwise my deductions would be in the $40k range.

Is this a bug you're working on? I've done my taxes for 17 years and this is now the second year in a row i have issues with Turbo Tax Home & Business not being able to correctly calculate mortgage interest (2x).

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

KrisD15 — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 21:54:09 GMT

The "rules" regarding Mortgage Interest being deductible changed several years ago and information needed to calculate the proper credit is not listed on the 1098, which makes the interview lengthy and confusing.

Since you are using TurboTax Desktop, you might want to sign-up for an email update regarding this worksheet.

It should be resolved by the end of this month.

Link for sign-up

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

dasmodul — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 22:15:04 GMT

Okay. I'll keep an eye out later in the month and just did the sign up.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though credits are way over $25k.

dasmodul — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:21:17 GMT

Any update on this folks? It's March 11 now and lot of us need to file but can't because we literally can't complete the biggest deduction that affects how much we have to pay? Is there a backup plan on instructions to somehow do the worksheet manually if you can't figure out the fix? Thanks

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

MarilynG1 — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 20:29:42 GMT

Yes, you are able to make entries directly on the Mortgage Interest Worksheet in FORMS mode (and on Schedule A).

Click this link for instructions on completing the worksheet from the IRS (see page 12).

Can you manually switch from Standard to Itemized Deductions?

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

dasmodul — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 21:19:51 GMT

Running into this same EXACT issue with 2022 return. It's forcing standard deduction instead of itemized even though my deductions are way over $25k limit. I forced Itemized mode as you suggested last year and this time it's not working. In fact, during its summary comparison vs 2021, it's spewing out errors and listing all the amounts as $0 (even though they are not). Not sure what to do.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

AbrahamT — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 18:02:35 GMT

I hoipe your'e not taking into account Misc itemized expenses that are subject to the 2% rule ( excess of 2% of the amount of AGI like union dues, job search expenses, uniforms and job supplies that are no longer deductible under the Job Care Act since 2018. Also, medical deductions are subject to excess of 7.5%, over AGI, insurance premiums in excess of 10% of AGI.

See HERE for the details https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-deductions-and-credits/tax-deduction-wisdom-should-you-itemize/L8Ln7K0Gp. In addition, there are limitations on charitable contributions as follows Annual income deductions for charitable contributions, are 30% of adjusted gross income (AGI) for contributions of non-cash assets, if held more than one year, and 60% of AGI for contributions of cash.

As far as I am concerned, the higher itemized deduction amount worked for me. See here

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

dasmodul — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 19:30:07 GMT

No that wasn't it. It seems to be working now. I had to delete all my mortgage interest and deductions and re-enter them, then do the same forced-itemization procedure and now it's working. Lot of hoops to jump through with itemization the past 3 years with this SW.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though credits are way over $25k.

SummerSunshine2026 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 21:05:23 GMT

YES! Same issue!!! They need to fix this ASAP!

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

SummerSunshine2026 — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 21:06:50 GMT

Same issue!

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

jennss — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 19:17:27 GMT

Having same issue with 2022 desktop version of Turbotax. Mortgage Interest is not pulling into Schedule A.

defaulting to standard deduction but with the mortgage interest and property tax - itemized is better than standard deduction. Am unable to override on the form directly and efile the return.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

MichaelG81 — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 19:04:18 GMT

This is a confirmed issue that is actively being resolved, Thank you for your patience. Please click here to sign up for updates when resolved.

@jennss

@dasmodul

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

MStau — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 02:09:44 GMT

I am using the Premier 2023 desktop product for my 2023 Fed and CA income taxes and it is forcing me to take the standard deduction instead of itemized deduction. This is even after consideration of the SALT $10k limit - my mortgage interest and charitable donations put me way over. Very disappointed that this remains an issue. This has to be fixed in order for me to file my taxes on TurboTax otherwise I will use another product and demand a refund.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

zomboo — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 04:58:51 GMT

Turbo Tax doesn't force the standard deduction. It selects it based on your allowed deductions. There is an option to select itemized deductions even though Turbo Tax thinks you are better off with the standard deduction. More information is needed to figure out why the software is not giving you the deductions you believe it should.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

MStau — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 23:54:38 GMT

What additional info do you need? I am MFJ and have similar income and expense (nature and amounts) as last year when I filed with Turbotax without this problem. When I force TT to itmize, my Federal tax liability increases so the program must be ignoring some of my itemized expense entries?

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

Vanessa A — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:08:53 GMT

If your standard deduction is greater than your itemized deduction, after you walk through and enter all of your itemized expenses, you will come to a screen that says your standard deduction is greater than your itemized expenses so it is giving you the standard deduction.

Not all of what you enter is deductible. If you enter $10,000 in medical expenses and your AGI is $100,000, then you would only get a medical expense deduction of $2,500 because medical expenses are only deductible for the amount that is over 7.5% of your AGI.

State and Local taxes that you paid, are capped at $10,000. So even if you paid in $20,000 between property taxes and income taxes, it is limited to $10,000.

Charitable contributions can also be limited to somewhere between 20% to 60% of your AGI depending on the type of organization.

Itemized expenses include mortgage interest, charitable contributions, gambling losses up to your winnings, state and local taxes up to $10,000, medical expenses in excess of 7.5% of your AGI and casualty and losses in excess of 10% of you AGI with the first $100 not counting towards the loss.

Then your total itemized expenses would need to be greater than your standard deduction below in order to benefit from your insurance premium payments.

So if you are seeing a better tax liability with the standard deduction than you are with your Itemized deductions, it is likely because the limitations on the itemized deductions reduced their value to below the standard deduction.

You can look at 12 of your 1040 to see how much you are getting for either deduction when you force the deduction versus the standard deduction.

The 2023 Standard Deductions are as follows:

Married Filing Joint (MFJ) $27,700
Married Filing Separate (MFS) $13,850
Head of Household (HOH) $20,800
Single $13,850

Blind and MFJ or MFS add $1,500

Single or HOH if blind add $1,850

Standard versus Itemized Deduction

Pub 526 Charitable Contributions

On the menu bar on the left that shows.

Select Tax Tools
On the drop-down select Tools
On the pop-up menu
Select View Tax Summary
On the left sidebar, select Preview my 1040

If you are using the online version and have already paid, you can go to the print center and look at your Schedule A to see your exact numbers in each category.

If you are using the desktop version, you can switch to forms mode to see your 1040 form and your schedule A for a better breakdown.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

MStau — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:38:53 GMT

Thank you, but I am aware of these limitations and factors in arriving at a decision between itemized deductions and the standard deduction. I meet the $10k limit on taxes and my mortgage interest (primary residence) and charitable contributions (no limits affect me) put me well in excess of $27,700, not even close.

As I look further, there are other program errors. The number I entered for mortgage interest expense is NOT carried forward accurately to the Schedule A summary. In addition, as I look at the Deductions summary in the Federal review, my real estate taxes (well over $10k) are not carried forward.

Seems to me I have a very buggy desktop version. Is there someone at TurboTax that I can somehow reach out to?

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

zomboo — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 04:54:14 GMT

Yes you can talk to a Turbo Tax representative directly. You will need a Turbo Tax account. Select Help on the left hand side of the black task bar at the top of the screen, not the Help Center button on the right hand side. Select Turbo Tax Help Center from the drop down list. In the Turbo Tax Help window, select Contact Us. Type in something like Itemized Deduction Error in the dialog box. You will then get instructions to call.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though credits are way over $25k.

mingcheli — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 20:32:29 GMT

You are right. My itemized deduction should be $36,622 after accounting for SALT limit of $10,000 (vs. $25,257). TurboTax Premium version forces me to use $30,700 for senior standard deduction. I have used Premium for more than a decade, this is serious bug.

Re: Mortgage Interest Deduction and Prop Tax not working. Forces Standard Deduction even though c...

LindaS5247 — Sun, 07 Apr 2024 15:45:57 GMT

You can select the alternative deduction by doing the following in TurboTax. I'm not sure what you have tried, but this method allows you to switch your deductions from standard to itemized and vice versa.

Go to "Deductions and Credits" and select "I'll choose what I work on"

Answer the prompts and you will come to the screen that says "You've chosen the itemized deductions" (or "You've chosen the Standard Deduction" in your case). This is where you will make the change.

It will look like this:

Select "Change My Deduction" and then select which deduction you wish to take.

Please feel free to come back to TurboTax Community with additional information or questions or click here for help in contacting Turbo Tax Support.