Rental property deductions are treated as business deductions. They offset the business income, therefore they are recorded in a different place on your return and are not limited by the restrictions in place for itemized deductions.
For mortgage interest and real estate taxes on your primary home, these are itemized deductions. And for itemized deductions to have any benefit on your return, the total of your itemized deductions needs to be more than the standard deduction. For 2018, the standard deduction amounts were increased significantly to
$12,000 for single/MFS, $18,000 for head of household, and $24,000 for a
joint return. Plus, there are restrictions to itemized deductions in 2018, like the $10,000 limit for state and local taxes (SALT) which includes not only real estate taxes but state and local income taxes withheld as well.
The note you saw in TurboTax about a tax break still being under review is related to mortgage insurance premiums. In previous years, mortgage insurance premiums could be included as a itemized deduction on your return. There has been discussion in Congress about this deduction being extended, but so far it has not been approved. Therefore, in the software, the entry for the amount was kept (in case it passed), but with the note that the deduction was under review. For 2018, any mortgage insurance premium amounts entered would not have any impact on a return as they are currently not allowed to be deducted.
See more information about the impact of mortgage interest and real estate taxes as itemized deductions below:
