As you've already discerned, there are actually (2) separate federal tax deductions that you may be eligible for, related to your car in Massachusetts.
First,
the sales tax that you paid in the year of your car's purchase can be
added to the amount of your general (other) sales taxes paid during that
same year, which is a standard calculated amount based on your income
and household size. This sales tax deduction, is chosen in lieu of
taking a state income taxes paid deduction (taxpayers are allowed only
one or the other deduction, income or sales) in any given year.
Second,
Massachusetts is one of those states that charges what is effectively a
tax on the value of your motor vehicle each year, as a type of
registration fee. In Massachusetts, the state authorities call this an
"excise tax." That excise tax can be separately deductible as a car
registration fee.
Third, it is important to realize that the first
and second items above will only actually be tax deductible, or in
other words benefit your tax situation -- by increasing your refund or
lowering your tax liability -- if you are already in the position of Itemizing your deductions, rather than taking the Standard deduction, as do about 2/3 of taxpayers every year.
In
TurboTax, you can find the place to either, or both, of these
vehicle-related deductions by doing the following. Open up your tax
program, and locate the Search / Find box near the top of your screen. Next, type in the words "sales tax car" into the box and click the button with our mouse pointer. When the "Jump To"
link appears beneath that, you can then click this link and you will be
taken to the appropriate section of the TurboTax interview. Repeat the
same process again, except this time use the words "car registration
fee" in the Search / Find box.
Also, you can look at the screen-capture images attached to this answer (below) for a visual aid.
Finally, if you have further
questions, encounter any difficulties, or just want to speak with a live tax
expert who can walk you through your TurboTax entries (including the ability to
screen-share with your computer), please feel free to contact us. We
would be happy to help you (and as a paying TurboTax customer, the call is free to
you). Here is a link where you can create a support ticket and reach us:
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/
Thank you for asking your question.
