State Income Tax not showing up among deductions

[dtrab]

When showing my tax breaks, Turbotax shows the mortgage interest deduction, property tax deduction, car registration fee, and charitable contributions, but not my state income taxes paid. The amount of those taxes, combined with the other deductions, would put my deductions above the amount of the standard deduction.  The state income taxes show up in each w2 uploaded but not among the deductions. (It doesn't show the amount as zero, there's no line for it at all. And the total SALT does not reach $10K.) What's wrong? 

[PatriciaV]

There isn't a separate entry topic for State Income taxes. To confirm that TurboTax is using the State Income tax from your W-2s when calculating Itemized Deductions, look at Schedule A Line 5a. 

If you're using TurboTax Online, you will need to download your return to your computer as a PDF file to view or print Schedule A. For this option, choose Tax Tools in the left column then select Print Center.  For more help, see Preview My Return Before Filing

If you're using TurboTax CD/Download for desktop, you can preview Schedule A usings Forms Mode. See this article for instructions: How do I switch to Forms Mode in the TurboTax for Windows software?

[dtrab]

The problem with that approach is that for the online version I can't download the schedule A without paying first, and if the system isn't recognizing my state income taxes as an itemized deduction, I don't want to pay for it. I need to know that it's going to accurately recognize and categorize my tax breaks or I could end up paying for an incorrect return. I've used Turbotax for several years and I've never had this issue previously. 

[DaveF1006]

In reading your original post, I notice you mentioned your property tax deduction was listed but not a deduction for your state income taxes.

Because, of the Tax Cuts Jobs Act in 2018, they put a cap of $10,000 on a combination of state taxes withheld and real-estate property taxes. If your property taxes were $10,000 or higher, that is your cap that is listed on line 5E on Schedule A. 

@dtrab

[dtrab]

My property taxes were under $2,400, and even combined with my state income taxes the total SALT isn't $10K. But combined with mortgage interest, auto tax, etc., the itemized deductions are more than the amount of the standard deduction, but since the state income taxes don't appear under tax breaks in Turbotax  for me, I'm not getting the full deduction, just the standard deduction. 

[dtrab]

Here's what I have. There's no good reason why my state income taxes (approximately $5,800) shouldn't be showing up here. I uploaded the w2s. I might try deleting the w2s and then uploading them again. 

[AmyC]

Auto tax is part of your state and local tax. Please see Schedule A (Form 1040) and confirm your deductions and their location  on the form to see if you really do add up to more than the standard deduction.

To see your sch A, you can pay for your return online then view the entire return plus worksheets. Once you locate the problem, things can be corrected.

See How do I preview my TurboTax Online return before filing?

[dtrab]

Yes, but I entered the auto tax/car registration manually as prompted by TurboTax. There was no prompt to enter state income taxes paid, although they show up when I view the w2 upload under income. 

On the schedule A worksheet, when I add the $5800 in state taxes paid to the tax breaks that do appear on Turbotax, the total is above the standard deduction. 

[KrisD15]

"Yes, but I entered the auto tax/car registration manually as prompted by TurboTax. There was no prompt to enter state income taxes paid, although they show up when I view the w2 upload under income."

Correct, the program computes the State INCOME tax from the forms you enter, such as your W-2.  

This answer was edited to correct previous post. 

[Edited 2/26/2023 | : pm PST]

[dtrab]

But the state income tax from the w2s isn't showing up as a tax break/itemized deduction in Turbotax. I don't know what to do.