According to California Law (R&TC Section 17076), California conforms to Federal rules for miscellaneous itemized deductions, but does not conform to federal suspensions of all miscellaneous itemized deductions. Hence, in my case I would like to deduct my higher educational expenses as itemized deductions under the state return only. How do I make this adjustment on my California return, using TurboTax?
As long as your Itemized Deductions exceed your California Standard Deduction amount, TurboTax will automatically apply the Itemized Deduction to your California return even if you are taking the Federal Standard Deduction.
You can view the Standard Deduction amounts for California at the link below:
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/individuals/faq/net/902.shtml
You can see how much of a deduction you are currently getting by taking the following steps:
1.) On the left-hand side of your screen, click Tax Tools
2.) Click Tools
3.) On the window that pops up, click View Tax Summary
4.) On the left-hand side of your screen, click CA Tax Summary, there will be a line called Itemized/Standard Deduction.