How do i enter itemized deductions for New York State?

[rjs · Accepted solution]

You have to enter your itemized deductions in the federal Deductions & Credits section of the TurboTax interview, even if you don't have enough deductions to itemize on your federal tax return. The deductions will flow to the New York return. Some federal itemized deductions are not allowed on the New York return. If your New York itemized deductions are more than your New York standard deduction, TurboTax will use itemized deductions on your New York return.

Note that TurboTax does not highlight the fact that it is using itemized deductions for New York. The only place you will see it, other than on the actual tax form, is on the screen at the end of the New York Interview that says "Let's Review Your New York Numbers." Under the Income heading on that screen it shows you whether it is using the standard deduction or itemized deductions.

[pponterio]

What about the reverse situation like for "entertainment" expenses?  These are no longer deductible on the federal side but the New York state return still acknowledges these as a deduction - where do I enter these for a self-employed Schedule C business?

[rjs]

Business expenses for self-employment are not itemized deductions. Enter them under business expenses in the business income section of the federal interview.

[rjs]

Where do you see that business entertainment expenses are still deductible on the New York tax return? Net Schedule C income from the federal return flows to the New York return with no adjustment for entertainment expenses. It appears to me that the federal rules for Schedule C effectively apply to New York as well. Can you point to a statement from the New York Department of Taxation and Finance that entertainment expenses that are not allowed on the federal Schedule C are allowed for New York?

[klc8]

All my itemized deductions information are entered in the Federal deductions and credits, but it just doesn't flow thru to NYS.  Turbotax online chose the standard deductions for me when I clearly can use itemized.  Please help on how to fix this?  thank you.

[rjs]

@klc8 - Not all of your federal itemized deductions are allowed on the New York return, most notably state and local income tax or sales tax.

Check the amount of your New York standard deduction at the following link.

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/file/standard_deductions.htm">https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/file/standard_de...>

It's difficult to figure out a problem like this in TurboTax Online, because you cannot see Form IT-196 if it's not being used in your New York tax return. You can download Form IT-196 and its instructions from the following link and fill it out manually to see the calculation of your New York itemized deductions. Be sure to go all the way to the end of the form, because there are significant adjustments at the end. The line that says "total itemized deductions" is not your final New York itemized deductions.

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/ads/efile_addit196-2d.htm">https://www.tax.ny.gov/pit/ads/efile_addit196-...>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/it/it196i.pdf">https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/current_forms/it/...>

If you need more help, please post a new separate question of your own. Do not continue the discussion of your problem here.

[hbshah]

Hi,

What to do if I need to change the 'State and local real estate taxes' section on the itemized deductions for NY state if I am filing for 2 different states? There should be a way of updating Form IT-196 in certain scenarios right? 

[papamc2ke]

I had very simple business expenses on my Schedule C, no meals, very low miles, etc.  I took the standard IRS calculated home office expense.  Last year Turbotax itemized my NYS deductions and I paid less in taxes?  I got a message from Turbotax that said they choose the standard deduction but it does not seem to make sense why.

[Vanessa A]

This sounds like you are talking about 2 different things.  Business income and itemized expenses/standard deduction.

For the itemized deductions versus standard deduction, TurboTax will give you whichever one is better each year.  Your home office expense does not play a role in the itemized versus standard deduction calculation.

Your itemized expenses for NY include 

• Medical and Dental expenses
• State and Local taxes you pay
• Home mortgage Interest
• Gifts to Charities
• Casualties and Theft Losses
• Job expenses (for employees, NOT the same as a self-employed home office expense)

Your NY standard deduction is $8,000 for a single person with no qualifying dependents.  So if your itemized expenses were less than the standard deduction, then TurboTax would give you the standard deduction because it would result in a better tax situation for you. 

So my question would be on your last years return did you enter your business office as a NY itemized expense after it was already deducted from your business income when you completed the business portion of your return?  If so, you may need to Amend your 2022 return for NY if it made a difference on your return.

@papamc2ke 

[papamc2ke]

I filled out IT-196 and calculated a NYS itemized deduction of $20,551 which is considerably better than the $16,050 standard deduction.  Is there any way to see how TurboTax filled out the IT-196?  Since they  didn't use it, they might just discard it.  I also saw on the NYS tax site explanations that are missing.  Any suggestions?

[DaveF1006]

To accurately to see how Turbo Tax determined your itemized deductions, we would like to see a diagnostic copy of your return. The information in this file is a sanitized copy  meaning there is no personal information, only numbers so that we can troubleshoot in depth, check for calculation issues, and to see how certain items are applied. In your case, this will be used to see how your itemized deductions were applied to your return. Here is how to order.

For Turbo Tax online, go to tax tools>tools>share my file with agent.  When this is selected, you will receive a token number.  Respond back in this thread and tell us what that token number is.

If you use the desktop version, go to the black stripe at the top of the program>online>send tax file to agent. Once you receive the token number, reply back in this thread and let us know what that token number is.

@papamc2ke