Overriding Standard Deduction & Tax Calculation in TurboTax 2022

[ldamario]

I would like to use TurboTax 2022 to forecast my 2023 tax return. It's easy enough to enter my estimates for the various income and deduction items, but TurboTax won't allow overriding the 2022 standard deduction to be the 2023 value. I've read that entries that come from another worksheet or form can't be overriden. You have to find where the value originates. But I've been unsuccessful in finding where the standard deduction originates. I have the same comments on the line 16 tax calculation. It seems that both the standard deduction and the line 16 tax are prohibited from being overriden by any means. I hope I'm wrong.

[ThomasM125]

You won't be able to override those numbers. There would be no purpose to do that in the preparation of your tax return for the year it was designed for. However, the changes to tax rates and brackets and standard deduction amounts should not have too big an affect on your tax return in 2023.

[VolvoGirl]

If you are using the Desktop program there is a What-If worksheet that I think has the 2023 amounts if it's been updated.

Go to Forms Mode, click Forms in the upper right (left for Mac). Then click Open Forms box in the top of the column on the left. Open the US listing of forms and towards the bottom find the What-if worksheet under Estimated payments or type in What-if in the search box top of left column.

[dmertz · Accepted solution]

For the overriding the standard deduction, on the Form 1040/1040SR Worksheet override line 12c, not 12a.

Adjusting the calculated tax is probably impractical unless the calculation is being done on one of the tax calculation worksheets.  However, in forms mode you can open the What-If Worksheet and mark the box at the top of one of the columns to tell TurboTax to use 2023 tax rates and copy column 1 to that new column.  You might also have to enter the standard deduction yourself.  Unfortunately, each time you change the tax return you'll need to delete any existing column, remark that box to use 2023 tax rates, then copy column 1 again.

[ldamario]

In my case, my hand calculations for 2023 using the higher standard deduction and new tax brackets moves me to a lower tax bracket with a savings of ~$900. I would call that a significant effect, and it makes a big difference in what my estimated taxes should be for 2023.

[ldamario]

My "What If" worksheet only works for 2022 tax returns. I remember from like 20 years ago, there was a What If feature for the following tax year. Then that feature went away.

[ldamario]

My 1040/1040SR worksheet does no have lines 12a, b, or c. It's just a single line 12.

However, I now see where the What If worksheet has an option to use 2023 tax rates. I'll see how that works out as compared to my hand calculations.

Also, I found a way to get around the problem with overriding the standard deduction when using the 2022 Form 1040. I can just put in a fake capital loss to simulate the difference in the standard deductions between 2022 and 2023.  The tax calculation is a bigger problem.