For the Condo:
Unfortunately, when you buy a home,
you don't get anything just for buying your home (There is no first time home buyers credit for 2015. That credit expired and it was not extended by congress). However, you are able to
include certain items related to your home on your tax return. If you itemize, you get to take such things as:
- the interest that you pay on
your mortgage
- real estate taxes
- mortgage Insurance
to name just a few.
To
enter your Property Taxes in TurboTax Online or Desktop, please
follow these steps:
- Once
you are in your tax return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab
("Personal" tab in TurboTax Home & Business)
- Next click on “Deductions
& Credits” ("Personal Income" in TurboTax Home &
Business)
- Next click on "jump to
full list" or “I’ll choose what I work on”
- Scroll down the screen until
to come to the section “Your Home”
- Choose "show more",
then Property Taxes and follow the onscreen instructions
You will enter this
information into TurboTax under the deductions and credit section > your
home and TurboTax will find all the deductions that are available to you.
For the new car purchase:
You have 2 deductible fees - sales
tax and your car registration.. They could
both be listed on your new car purchase invoice or you may need to contact your
state's Department of Motor Vehicles for a breakdown of your car registration
fee information.
Car Registration Fees - the total amount
of your registration fee is not deductible, just the portion that the state
charged you for taxes based on the value of your vehicle.
To enter your car registration fees in TurboTax
Online or Desktop, please follow these steps:
- Once you are in your tax
return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in
TurboTax Home & Business)
- Next click on “Deductions
& Credits” ("Personal Income" in TurboTax Home &
Business)
- Next click on "jump to
full list" or “I’ll choose what I work on”
- Scroll down the screen until
to come to the section “Cars and other things I own”
- Choose "show more",
then car registration fees and follow the onscreen instructions
Sales Tax Deduction - You have the choice to
deduct the general sales tax for your state or the sales tax for all your major
purchases. TurboTax will guide you in determining which of these provides you
will the larger deduction.
To enter your sales taxes in TurboTax Online or
Desktop, please follow these steps:
- Once you are in your tax
return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in
TurboTax Home & Business)
- Next click on “Deductions
& Credits” ("Personal Income" in TurboTax Home &
Business)
- Next click on "jump to
full list" or “I’ll choose what I work on”
- Scroll down the screen until
to come to the section “Estimates and Other Taxes Paid ”
- Choose "show more",
then Sales Tax (start/update/revisit)
- Choose - continue to sales
tax and have the program guide you (this will help the TurboTax program
determine if taking a general sales tax or individual sales tax is better
for your situation (screenshot)
Please note that you will only be able to take
this deduction if you itemize on your return. The TurboTax program will give
you the greater of the standard deduction or the itemized deduction based on
your particular situation:
For 2015, the
standard deduction starts at
$6,300 for Single,
$12,600 for Married
Filing Jointly, or Qualifying Widow(er) with dependent child,
$9,250 for Head of
Household,
$6,300 for Married
Filing Separately
For over 65 and/or
blind, add $1,250 for each instance (or add $1,550 each instance if single and
not a surviving spouse).
So if all your
itemized deductions are below the standard deduction, TurboTax will still
take the larger standard deduction on your tax return. Thus no change in your
refund amount.
