How do I enter miscellaneous investment expenses (such as computer programs or magazines) in Turbo Tax Premier 2021? Neither the Other Investment Expenses category in Retirement and Investments nor the Other Deductible Expenses in Other Deductions and Credits has a place for them in 2021. There is a reference in the Other Investment Expenses category on the page to Enter Investment Expenses that says they should be entered in the Other Deductions group but there is no place to do so there.
Investment expenses (except for interest on loans used to purchase investments) are not deductible for tax years 2018-2025, following the tax reform law of 2017. They used to be miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% rule, which meant that taxpayers rarely got a tax reduction from listing them in any case, due to the 2% rule and the requirement to itemize.
They are still able to be listed because some states allow the deduction, you list them under federal and they flow to the state if your state allows it. It will be other "miscellaneous itemized deductions" on the deductions and credits page.
The "Other Deductions and Credits" category does not currently have a ""miscellaneous itemized deductions" tab in my current Turbo Tax Premier 2021.
You will see an option to enter your investments expenses in the Other Deductions and Credits section, and then Other Deductible Expenses in TurboTax.
In my current version of Turbo Tax Premier 2021, when I go to the Other Deductions and Credits Section and then to Other Deductible Expenses, I first get a page regarding generation skipping taxes and then a page with five boxes none of which is for miscellaneous expenses (such as computer programs or advice subscriptions). The five boxes all deal with deductions not limited previously by the 2% rule such as Estate Tax Deductions, unrecovered investment in pension, etc. I am hoping that this omission will be fixed in an update.
@francav wrote:
In my current version of Turbo Tax Premier 2021, when I go to the Other Deductions and Credits Section and then to Other Deductible Expenses, I first get a page regarding generation skipping taxes and then a page with five boxes none of which is for miscellaneous expenses (such as computer programs or advice subscriptions). The five boxes all deal with deductions not limited previously by the 2% rule such as Estate Tax Deductions, unrecovered investment in pension, etc. I am hoping that this omission will be fixed in an update.
Are you sure? Check again. This photo is from the online version, but the online and desktop version are usually identical. This is the first screen after generation skipping taxes.
Yes, I am sure. I checked again as you advised. The photo you posted from the online version is not the page I get after I say I did not pay generation skipping taxes. Instead, the page I get is:
I hope they will fix this in an update so that the online and desktop versions will match and allow for the entry of those miscellaneous deductions.
@francav wrote:
Yes, I am sure. I checked again as you advised. The photo you posted from the online version is not the page I get after I say I did not pay generation skipping taxes. Instead, the page I get is:
I hope they will fix this in an update so that the online and desktop versions will match and allow for the entry of those miscellaneous deductions.
I can check the Mac version tonight, it should again be the same as the windows version, but I don't have a PC. The screen to enter itemized deductions subject to the 2% rule should come before the screen to enter itemized deductions not subject to the 2% rule.
@francav wrote:
Thanks. Please let me know what you find on your Mac.
As of last night, the Mac version had the appropriate screen in the right place. (The entries for investment expenses and other miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% rule comes after the generation skipping tax and before the deductions not subject to the 2% rule.)
I will see if I can get any expert PC users to look at your situation.
I have Premier on a PC, and I get the same screen for entering investment expenses that Opus 17 gets on the Mac and online. It does not skip that screen.
Please make sure that your software is updated. There is a new update today. On the Online menu click "Check for Updates." Install any updates that it finds, then see if you still have the problem.
Opening poster @francav is correct. There is def something weird going on here - the entry screen is missing.
I have the Win (not online) TT Deluxe version (fully up-to-date) , and I also am not presented with the screen to enter the misc. expenses. I've used this screen for years and I know exactly where to find it. The "Other Deductible Expenses" used to present 3 entry screens - Generation Skipping Taxes, Less Common Expenses and Other Expenses. The misc. investment expenses are entered in the second, and it's no longer there. I had, in fact, already made some entries in December, and now I can't edit them bc I can't get back there. Somewhere along the way, one of the TT updates removed access to the Less Common Expenses entry screen. NYS allows a deduction for these expenses, so I need access. I can edit them directly on the forms, but prefer not to. I'd also like to confirm that this is a glitch and not a deliberate change in TT due to a change in NYS tax law regarding these deductions.
You do not see this when accessing the Deductions & Credits section and scrolling down to the bottom of the page?
I think the problem is that of the 3 pages that are supposed to be under that topics (generation-skipping taxes, miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% rule, and other itemized deductions not subject to the 2% rule, the middle page (2% deductions) is missing.
There is no change to NY law and even if there was, it wouldn't flow backwards to alter the Federal workflow.
Some other experts here have verified that their copies of Turbotax for Windows have the correct page. I can only think that you have a problem specific to your installation. I suggest making a backup copy of your tax data file in a safe place, then uninstall and reinstall the program. It might also be interesting to find the appropriate worksheet in Forms mode and verify it is still there, even if you don't want to use forms mode for your official tax return.
Since we don't have the problem, it's hard for us to diagnose.
Your reply to @DoninGA describing the problem is correct.
The entries I made in Dec. are on the forms, both Fed Misc. Itemized Deductions Worksheet Schedule A Lines 16 (line 26b) and NYS IT-196 Resident Itemized Deductions (line 24). I can also see the total of the entries (in blue) on the TT step-by-step Fed 2021 Deductions and Credits main page, Other Deductions and Credits line, 2021 column. Clicking on the total displays all the entries, as it should. I did a test entry into the Itemized Deductions Worksheet Fed Sched A form, and it correctly flowed through to NY IT196 and displays on the step-by-step page as well. It's a GUI problem in the step-by-step, but the program logic appears to be good.
I first noticed it a couple of weeks ago, but figured it would be fixed in an update. Hasn't happened. It's bizarre that its only happening to some of us and not others, so I hope they fix it soon. Folks who aren't comfortable working with the forms are gonna be flummoxed, or may miss it altogether and lose some deductions.
@jeffecohen wrote:
I think you should start with a clean reinstall on your own system. Sometimes if the program gets into a bad state, the routine update procedure will perpetuate the bad state rather than fixing it. (This was due to Registry problems in Win 7, I don't know if Win 10 still has the Registry, although I imagine they do.)
You may well be right about re-installing, but unless something unexpectedly bad pops up when I download the brokerage 1099s, I'm gonna wait until after I file. Too many past TT installation problems make me hesitant to chance it. It's easy enough to do entries directly into the forms, and I'm pretty confident the rest of the program is working as it should be. And, who knows? Maybe they'll find the bug and fix it.
If investment expenses are not permissible at the Federal level, then this string makes no sense. In my Turbotax Deluxe, there is no way of entering investment expenses, precisely because they are not allowed!
You are mistaken sir. Turbotax does not offer this option.
It should be in your program because you can deduct investment expenses up to the amount of your interest income and it will be an itemized deduction reported on line 9 of your Schedule A. These are allowed.
[ Edited 03/25/22| 06:48 PM PST]
@sanfordius
@sanfordius wrote:
You are mistaken sir. Turbotax does not offer this option.
Only investment interest is deductible (interest on loans used to acquire investments), and only up to the amount of income realized by the investments. Other investment expenses (research, transaction fees, etc.) are not deductible.
The investment interest deduction is right here...
I'm not in any way a tax specialist, but I believe there may be certain circumstances under which these deductions can be taken. But even if not, they are still allowed in some states. TT does not provide an entry vehicle for these items in the state programs bc they are designed to flow through from the Fed return, as are other types of data. This particular issue is almost certainly a program glitch bc, apparently, most users DO see the entry form exactly where it has been in many previous years. In fact, I was able to use it in an earlier version of the 2021 program because I made some entries that I can no longer access unless I go to the forms. For some unexplained reason, the OP and I do not have access now. I chose to enter the data directly onto NYS 196 because it was simply easier than reinstalling TT, but entry should be, and from what I can tell from this thread, still is available to other users via the Fed interview.
EVERYTHING you are talking about is already included in Turbotax, see the screenshots below. You may need to click "show more" or "let me choose what to work on" to see all the options.
Investment Interest (interest paid on loans used to buy investments) is a federal itemized deduction. It survived tax reform. Interest expenses have ALWAYS been separate from other investment expenses because they have to be tracked separately on form 4952, and you can only deduct interest against income. For example, you borrow $10,000 to buy stock. You pay $500 interest the first year, but the stock only pays $200 of dividends. You can deduct $200 this year, and carry the other $300 forward. Next year you pay another $500 in interest, and you sell the stock for a $1000 capital gain. You can deduct the $500 current interest plus the $300 interest carried forward.
The investment interest deduction is located here...
All other investment expenses are miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% rule. This deduction was eliminated at the federal level for 2018-2025, but some states still allow this deduction. You can still enter these expenses in Turbotax. They won't be reported on your federal return but will flow to your state return if you state allows it. Here is where to find it in the program...
Remember that Investment Interest must always be reported separately from other investment expenses, even before the TCJA.
You are correct about But the thread was originally about investment expenses, such as advice from investment expenses. The issue of investment interest is much narrower and probably of little interest to the majority of Turbotax users. It's also the first mention that the Federal law changed, even if some states did not. It would be helpful to know which states still permit 2% deductions