The mortgage interest deduction does not seem to be working properly for me. I have two mortgages. I entered the first interest amount and the tax owed did not decrease?

[KarenJ]

TurboTax is working  correctly. Due  to the changes in the tax law for 2018, the standard deduction has almost doubled in 2018 (for years 2018-2025).  For 2018 the standard deduction is $12,000 for single, $18,000 for head of household, and $24,000 for married filing jointly. 

TurboTax automatically calculates your itemized deductions as you are entering them and comparing the total to your standard deduction.  If your itemized deductions are higher than your standard deduction after entering all your itemized deductions, you will see a change in your tax.

Please see the TurboTax FAQ on how will tax reform affect my 2018 federal tax return.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/6971774

[mjcovert007]

I have the same issue.  $21.5k in interest, $3000 in taxes, with other deductions and it still says my itemized deduction is only $10,350.  Seems like the program is including interest into the $10,000 tax max.

[jordanadriscoll]

Same for me.

[kahulumealani200]

I also have an issue with the Schedule mortgage deduction.  It's only reading one of the multiple 1098s rather than the total of all 1098s

[SweetieJean]

Be sure to indicate that the Mortgage is secured by the property.

[kahulumealani200]

Thank you TurboTax and SweetieJean!  Yes, it was the question regarding mortgage being secured by the property that got me.  First time in 8 years I answered that question incorrectly.  Amendment going out tomorrow.

[abryan1112]

I've got $27K in mortgage interest and 4K in taxes and it is not taking into account my mortgage interest.  I've ensured that the loan is "secured by my property" and nothing changes.  I've deleted and reentered several times but it still does not work.  Any ideas?

[tprtpr164]

I am having the same problem as abryan1112.  I have entered mortgage interest amounts over and over and also entered points paid as well.  Turbotax is only recognizing the points and disregards the interest.  I made sure the "secured by my property" is checked.   However, something odd keeps occuring after I enter all of the mortgage interest at the end of the section.  At the end, it asks if the mortgages were over $750,000 after December 15, 2017.  When I click "No", my Federal refund increases by about $4k and State tax due drops by 3/4.  But when I click "continue" to move onto the next section, my refund amount drops back down.  At the end, in the summary comparison section, Turbotax is still only displaying "points" paid and not mortgage interest.

[johnsonbl1822]

Same here.  We had 34K in deductions last year w/ interest.  Same this year but after I get through adding all the 1098s and click continue it then asks if the mortgages exceed the new thresholds (which they don't).  I select no and the calculation updates, my refunds look right and then when I click continue it recalculates removing ALL the mortgage interest.

[AndreiL]

I had the same issue with turbotax not allowing to deduct a 31K mortgage interest. The work around is rather simple:

1. Go to "Forms" menu - on the top right corner of the screen.

2. Open form named "Tax & Int Wks".

3. In the "Mortgage Interest Limited Smart Worksheet" section check the No box on the line "Does your mortgage interest need to be limited".

Enjoy.

That looks like a software bug for me. Hopefully the Intuit support staff reads these posts and will fix it ASAP.

Cheers,

Andrei

[DianeC958]

On the refinanced mortgage Box 2 is asking for the amount of the outstanding balance of the loan as on 01/01/2019.  Since the loan did not start until after that the date the amount in Box 2 for the refinanced mortgage should be $0.  

If you put a balance for the loan in Box 2 for the refinanced loan the computer program will impose the limits on how much interest you can deduct on mortgages.

Link to Deduction Mortgage Interest

@physics90

@tprtpr164

@johnsonbl1822

[tprtpr164]

I believe @DianeC958 hit the nail on the head.   I was entering the outstanding balance in Box 2 for a mortgage that was initiated after 01/01/2019.  Once I entered $0 in Box 2 the problem disappeared and amounts were calculated correctly.  I am not sure if I missed a Turbotax instruction along the way; I was simply entering the amounts listed in each box on the 1098.  Problem solved...thank you @DianeC958 !

[johnsonbl1822]

@DianeC958  I thought it was likely dates and such that were causing the problem however it didn't work.  Another member had suggested unchecking a box on one of the forms stating "my interest deductions are subject to limitations" or something similar.  That immediately worked.  It almost seems like if you do it wrong the first time then no matter what you do after this box stays checked unless you manually remove it.

[abryan1112]

Exactly the same situation as mine, and the box that you have to uncheck is not available on the online version. I had to download the desktop version to have it do the deduction correctly.