My itemized deductions are higher than the standard deductions so why did my Tubotax program select the standard deduction in calculating my return?

[twotom]

I have found the same question previously posted twice. In one case, the reply suggested that this is a software bug. They provided a "workaround" that did not work. In the other case, the reply simply assumed that the questioner did not know what they were doing. This needs a competent answer, NOW.

[DoninGA]

Ok...Let's see what the program has for the Standard Deduction and the Itemized Deduction.

Assuming that you have entered all of your itemized deduction in the Deductions & Credits section.

Click on Federal on the lefts side of the screen.  Click on Deductions & Credits on the top of the screen.  Scroll down to the bottom of the Deductions and Credits web page and click on the Wrap up tax breaks button.

On the next or following screen the Standard Deduction and the Itemized Deduction are shown with amounts.  Which one has the larger dollar amount?

If the Standard Deduction is larger and you believe the Itemized Deductions should be higher, then where do you think the problem is occurring on the Schedule A for itemized deductions? 

Only the amount  of medical expenses greater than 7.5% of your AGI are deductible.  State/Local Taxes paid OR Sales Taxes Paid Plus Property Taxes paid are limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if filing Separately).

[twotom]

Thank you for your response. TurboTax is correctly computing my allowable itemized deductions, net of for example the 7.5% bar for medical expenditures. On the screen you refer to, I can select a drop-down which shows a detailed itemization of these deductions, totaling (net) significantly more than the standard deduction. But on the same screen, the program is showing that my refund under either case will be the SAME, and it recommends that I use the standard deduction. Also, the program is not letting me manually switch to itemized deductions. I can initiate this from the same screen, indicating that I want the program to use my itemized deductions. But after a few clicks, I am back at the same screen showing me that I should use the standard deduction.

I called the Help line (after running the Intuit VRU gauntlet), and they finally confirmed that this is a bug which they are now working on.

[DMarkM1 · Accepted solution]

I can't see your return, but possibly the standard deduction already takes your taxable income to zero.  Once you have completed entry of all deductions and get to the screen to select "Itemized" do so and then take a look at the forms view to see which deductions are being used. If the correct deductions are there then don't go back to deductions again unless you need to.  Understand if you do, you will be prompted to select itemized again.    

In the online version:

1.  Click "Tax Tools" in the left hand menu

2.  Click "Tools" in the left hand menu

3.  Click "View Tax Summary" in the center screen

4.  You will get a summary view there but you can go a step further

5.  Click "Preview My 1040" in the left hand menu

[twotom]

Yes, you are correct. The standard deduction took care of my tax liability, even though I had a greater amount of itemized deductions. I had wished that I could carry some deductions forward, but that is not allowed. It would be nice if TT explained that. Thank you!