DIDNT ASK FOR MORTGAGE INTEREST. IT GAVE ME A STANDARD DEDUCTION, IS THIS CORRECT?

[dogshit811]

SO MORTGAGE INTEREST DOES NOT APPLY WHEN YOU TAKE THE STANDARD DEDUCTION?

[CarolynM]

Correct.

Mortgage interest is an itemized deduction, just like state/local taxes, medical expenses and property taxes. The total amount of your itemized deductions must exceed the standard deduction before you will notice a difference on your tax return,

With the increased in the standard deductions ($12,000 for single filers, $24,000 for married filers), fewer people are seeing the tax benefit of the mortgage interest.

You can still enter your mortgage under Deductions & Credits, but you may not see it on your return.

[SteamTrain]

...correct

......enter all possible deductions, even if Federal Std Deduction is used.  The "potential" deduction might be an allowed deduction on your state tax return, and almost all deductions must be entered in the Federal section in order to show up in the stet software.