Tax Year Prior to 2020: Mortgage Interest not Showing on Schedule A

Please go to Forms Mode and look at your Home Mortgage Interest Worksheet to see how the numbers were reported. 

Please pay particular attention to Section F line 8 "Acquisition Debt". This number should be the total debt of the loan attributed to build, purchase, and/or improve your home, not just the amount from the cash taken out. 

I have the same issue (also on a mac using the desktop version). All looked fine until it did a review at the end, where an error came up which I tried to fix but whatever I did lead to the mortgage deduction not being counted for some reason, so it defaults to the standard deduction. I checked the worksheet and the amounts all seem correct. 

There is a bug in Windows desktop version of Turbo Tax premier, with California as state filing,  confirmed by Turbo Tax expert today. Condition is mortgage interest paid ( numbers input from 1098 statements) are input and shown in summary that compares 2018 vs 2019.  However mortgage interest not included in Schedule A deductions. Workaround is to manually  input mortgage interest amounts in forms section for schedule A using override.  You highlight the entry box in forms and right click to bring up override. I had to down load a patch from Turbo Tax to get over ride to work. NOTE, with this workaround you cannot file returns electronically, you have to print out return and mail. 

I am having the same issue (also Mac desktop version).  Did you find a solution?  Thank you!

@KrisD15 I'm still having this issue.  I can manually correct, but that blocks me from filing electronically.  I've checked and double checked at every point.  The numbers are all correct in as far as the mortgage forms go.  But in Schedule A it then shows as a 0 for the mortgage deduction.   As I stated in my first message, I know with 100% confidence that all of my mortgage interest is deductible.  Thus the present behavior of the app is clearly incorrect and thus I would conclude that it is a bug causing it not to calculate properly.   That said, do you have a time frame for fixing it?  This is pretty basic as far as the tax code goes so it's a bit surprising to me that it shipped with this bug.  Further it's a fairly significant error that is presently blocking me from e-filing.  A week has gone by how much longer until I can expect a fix?  This is now the second consecutive year I have had to wait on TurboTax to resolve bugs so I could e-file.  That's a little disappointing...

Same issue here.  I'm a CPA and I teach accounting, so I obviously know what I'm doing.  Mortgage interest is being reported correctly on Schedule A until going through the error check when finishing the federal return, and then it forces the change to report it as zero and reverts to the standard deduction.  Extremely frustrating.

Is your itemized deduction more than standard deduction? Don't forget the SALT limitation. State and local taxes are capped at $10,000. So, if the capped amount is not allowing you to itemize because you will be below the standard deduction, then the system reverts to standard.

I am having the same issue with desktop Mac version. Mortgage interest payments do not show up on Schedule A. This IS NOT a SALT issue, as my mortgage interest, plus $10,000 state and local tax limit, plus donations far exceed the standard deduction. Turbo Tax has a serious problem that it needs to address, and quickly. This is so basic that I should not have to work hours to try workarounds to fix the flaw.

There is a workaround for this. 

For desktop versions:

• In Forms view, locate and click on Tax & Int Wks on the left from the forms list
• On the form, scroll to Mortgage Interest Limited Smart Worksheet
• Click on NO to the right of the question, Does your mortgage interest need to be limited

Okay thank you for this as that fixed the bug. I agree with the other responses that this is a huge bug and I cannot believe this has not been addressed.

There is no bug.

The 1098 does not report your daily average home acquisition debt. 

Perhaps the Lender will need to report that on the 1098 sometime in the near future. 

For now, you enter the 1098. If the program asks if the debt was over the limit, it is up to you to answer and make the adjustment if necessary. 

Do not alter the 1098. Enter the 1098(s) as reported. Box 2 should not be blank. Box 2 is the balance of the loan on 01-01-2019 OR the balance on the day the loan was taken out in 2019. Answer the interview questions carefully.

If you get an error concerning the balance, please follow these directions:

ONLINE USERS:

Please go back to the Home Mortgage Interest section:

Click Federal on the left side-bar

Click Deductions & Credits along the top

Scroll down to “Mortgage Interest and Refinancing (Form 1098)” Click Edit/Add

Scroll down the “Here’s your 1098 info” screen and click Done.

Next screen asks “Do any of these situations apply to you?” Select “Yes, one or all of these situations apply to me.” and Continue.

On the following screen, you will see the “Original amount”.

Enter the amount you can claim as a Home Mortgage Interest deduction in the “Adjusted amount” box. The Adjusted amount cannot be larger than the original amount or you will receive an error when trying to file. Instructions on who needs to adjust interest and how to calculate are available by clicking the blue “Help me figure this out” link.

DESKTOP USERS:

Go into Forms (top right)
Enter the amount on Tax & Int Wks
Mortgage Interest Limited Smart Worksheet section
Line A2

OR

Step by Step

Federal

Deductions & Credits

Mortgage Interest, Refinancing and Insurance Click Update

Click Done

Click Yes, one or both of these situations apply to me. And Continue

Enter the Adjusted amount and Continue

There is a bug.

Total outstanding mortgage principal was manually adjusted to below limitations, yet the program persisted with ignoring mortgage interest and forcing a standard deduction.  It seems to be an issue when there are multiple debt sources.  My work around was to recommence the return and aggregate all debt into one entry.

Regardless, TurboTax is a program that is marketed towards an average Joe who can do his/her own return.  It shouldn't require a CPA like myself who actually understands what is being entered and in this case, mortgage interest limitations, to complete the return without issue.  Pssst.

Great easy fix.  However, bad error to have shipped.

I spent hours trying to figure this out. Had the same problem with desktop versions. I have six 1098s to enter and it showed 0 and suggested using standard deduction when the itemized was almost 10k more. 

What a terrible bug to have. Should be fixed immediately.. Think about how many people will not catch this and lose out.

Thanks guys for figuring out a work around. Saved me thousands on my return. 

Thank you very much for reporting this. What a horrible bug! Really frustrating when the worksheet shows you the correct number but it just won't show up in the corresponding Schedule A line. No explanations what so ever. Very bad experience. 

Also it keeps crashing when you want to switch form mode before you complete all the review.

I agree with all of the posts - this is terrible and turbo tax should be ashamed!

The fix posted below by VictoriaD75 works - but only people who have a pretty good understanding of taxes would even know to look for the problem. I guarantee there are a lot of returns already completed that are wrong and the taxpayers don't even have a clue.

Iv'e been using turbo tax for a long time and have been really pleased.  But this really makes me mad.  

Again, turbo tax should be ashamed!

Art

Thank You for suggesting the work around for MAC Desktop version. I am very surprised why Turbo Tax is not able to update this fix via a patch even on 3/30/2019 & I have even called TT Support and they also did not know about this work around.

For desktop versions: workaround is as below.

• In Forms view, locate and click on Tax & Int Wks on the left from the forms list
• On the form, scroll to Mortgage Interest Limited Smart Worksheet
• Click on NO to the right of the question, Does your mortgage interest need to be limited

It's 04/14, 10:30pm and this bug still not fixed.

Workaround indeed works, but gosh, it took my some time to google the answer.

I have pretty serious doubts about continuing with Intuit for the next tax year ..

@arsnls Thanks for pointing back to VictoriaD75 post and copy/pasting her workaround.

I am really really disappointed with Intuit for not fixing this problem. The work around is a nightmare, especially when I will be paying a pretty penny for this software. I have been using Turbo Tax for 8 years. For Intuit not to fix this problem is unacceptable. I went to H&R Block and completed my return without any problem. I feel sorry for the people who filed and not realized the bug. Intuit has lost me as a customer for life. 

I would love to try that work-around, but I don't see the question "Does your mortgage interest need to be limited" in the Home Mortgage Interest Limitation Smart Worksheet. 

I'm using Desktop software on a Mac.

What am I missing?

Also, I noticed another related issue. If I use the steps suggested by @KrisD15   there's very suspicious behavior. 

To the question “Do any of these situations apply to you?”  I select “No” because those situations do not apply in my case to either of the mortgages that I had in 2019. At this point,  my total tax reduces significantly... more than $2,000... but when I click the "Continue." the total tax goes back up.

Not sure why u cannot see that, I just followed below steps. trying to attach screenshot see if it helps.

you may have to Answer Yes & then confirm that ur interest is either from a Re-finance or loan from original home purchase. All of this is assuming that ur Mortgage is for ur primary home & Amt s not > 750K.

• In Forms view, locate and click on Tax & Int Wks on the left from the forms list
• On the form, scroll to Mortgage Interest Limited Smart Worksheet
• Click on NO to the right of the question, Does your mortgage interest need to be limited

Thank you all for the fix.  It is completely unacceptable that this hasn't been fixed.

I couldn't let go of this problem. I think that when you are in the step by step area to enter the mortgage information, the box to check Yes or No, Does your mortgage interested need to be limited?  is not there and the answer defaults to Yes. If you go to the Tax Deduction Interest Worksheet to the Mortgage Interest Limited Smartsheet section, you will see the box is checked Yes. Switch it to No and watch your tax liability go down. Note that once checked no, the section is gone in the step by step area.