Form 8829 line 10 standard deduction problem

I wonder whether this has something to do with the presence of Schedule A in the return even though program selected the standard deduction as the best alternative

Further answering -- Check to see if you checked the "YES" box when you first entered mortgage interest.  If you are not itemizing, but rather taking the standard deduction, the box should be unchecked.  This will force the entry of all your mortgage interest in response to the later excess mortgage interest question that puts an entry into Line 16 of the 8829.

Richard,

You are correct.  I called TT directly after I posted this and got it straightened out.  This is the first moment I've had to get back here and post an update.  When taking the standard deduction, you should NOT check the box to include the 1098 from your mortgage company.  Later on TT will ask about excess mortgage interest and excess real estate taxes and that's where you enter the info from the 1098.  I've never had this situation before, and never have excess interest or real estate taxes, so I breezed through those questions and missed the bullet point about still entering them if you take the standard deduction.  I still have to figure out where to enter the mortgage insurance, because it's still ending up incorrectly on line 10 at the moment.

What brought this about in the first place is the fact that TT asks for all of the business stuff before asking about personal stuff and before determining whether to itemize or take the standard deduction.  What is troubling about the whole thing is that TT did not throw a flag at the end of the return when it ran the smart check or whatever it's called.  I only discovered it by accident when I went back to check something else and decided to read the IRS instructions on form 8829.  TT really should have caught that.  Anyway, mostly fixed now.  I will say, the person I got on the phone when I called TT was immensely helpful. 

Instructions for Form 8829 from IRS say that mortgage insurance premiums for those not itemizing deductions will also go to Line 16 excess mortgage interest.  In TT, do not use the mortgage premium screed to enter this number, but instead, add it to the interest you are reporting as excess mortgage interest.

I agree with you that this matter is not well explained.  This problem should flag once the final decision is made whether to itemize or take the standard deduction.

Hope this helps

Richard,

Thanks for the suggestion.  I was hoping I could do that, but hadn't gotten back re-reading the instructions since I got the initial problem resolved late Sat night.

Out of curiosity, when you say "this problem should flag" do you mean "it will" or "it should, but doesn't"?  The latter is what I experienced.

As in -- it doesn't do it, but it should.  I had the same problem and was about ready to pull the trigger on electronic filing when I decided to take a second look.  As you previously mentioned, all the mortgage information goes in well prior to entry of personal deductions and the program testing for whether itemizing or taking the standard deduction is appropriate.  That's what I meant about the program either flagging a discrepancy once it applies the standard deduction or just automatically moving any entry on Lines 10 and 11 to Lines 16 and 17 when standard deduction is chosen.

Well, glad I'm not the only one who experienced this.  Does TT monitor these forums or should we put in a product suggestion / bug report somewhere?

I'm having the same problem, but I don't see where in the step-by-step interview questions to

1. "NOT check the box to include the 1098 from your mortgage company"

2. enter excess mortgage interest and real estate taxes.

I was able to edit 8829 directly, but I'm trying to understand how to do this correctly via the interview.

I found it. Here are details in case this helps others.

Summary: When you take the standard deduction, mortgage interest and real estate taxes should go on lines 16 and 17 of 8829 instead of 10 and 11. In order for this to happen, you need to take specific steps in the interview, namely:

• Business
• Business Income and Expenses
• Edit your business
• Business Expenses > Home Office Expense
• Edit your home office and answer the next ~12 questions.
• Then, I choose “I’ll enter actual expenses spreadsheet-style”.
• Then, the key screen appears, entitled “Let’s confirm mortgage interest applies to this home office”. It has a checkbox next to “Yes, include for this home office deduction”. It also has a line that says, “If you’re not itemizing deductions, uncheck the ”Yes, include for this home office deduction” box below.” Uncheck the box. Press “Done”.
• A few screens later comes one entitled, “Enter expenses for entire home”. On that screen, it says, “If you are not itemizing deductions, enter your mortgage interest as Excess Mortgage Interest, and your real estate taxes as Excess Real Estate Taxes.” Populate those two fields.

You have it exactly right.  It is a bit confusing; you have to read the original mortgage entry screen very carefully to understand that mortgage interest should not be entered here if you are not itemizing deductions.  Good luck with your return

Thanks for your reply and your help earlier in the thread, Richard.

Very helpful.  TurboTax should explain NOT to check this box if you are taking a standard deduction, or better yet, because this section will often be filled out before the decision on standard or itemized deductions is made,  it should monitor itself, ask for the whole hourse interest and taxes, not enter amounts on Lines 10 and 11 but on lines 16 and 17 if the standard deduction is taken.

Thank you for this post. I'm having this same problem in 2023 (after stumbling upon the IRS instructions right before I'm about to file) and it looks like TT has been doing it wrong on my taxes for years. This is a major fail. It implies it will handle it all automatically and it doesn't. Unless you hit "learn more" next to each line item, it never says this isn't allowed if you're taking the standard deduction. I will send feedback this year and hope they fix it. Not sure why such an obvious error doesn't come up in their "smart check". Makes me worried about everything else.

Does the expense carry to Form 8829 line 14? 

Is anything reported on line 16 and line 17? 

Yes to line 14, No to line 16/17... which may be correct if you itemize, but TT has chosen the standard deduction for me.

However, if you enter the amounts in the "Excess" fields on the worksheet mentioned above, it then correctly puts them on 16/17 instead of 14.

The problem is it implies it will handle it automatically, doesn't warn you if it later chooses the standard deduction for you, and generally has very poor explanation in the home deduction step by step. 🙂

The problem appears to rest with the first interview screen appearing after you select the "I'll enter actual expenses with the Office Expense Expert (recommended)" radio button. The very next screen, entitled "Let's confirm ----- mortgage interest applies to this home office."  If you check the box: "Yes, include for this home office deduction" and are NOT itemizing deductions, you will lose a portion of your hoe mortgage interest -- there is no Schedule A.  Checking the box will populate Line 10 and total on Line 14.  You don't find out about this error until a number of screens later in the interview at the Excess Mortgage Interest.  You are told to enter interest here if not itemizing -- an Lines 16/17 are populated.  The difficulty rests with a very poor explanation of a tricky distinction in the home office deduction -- itemize or not itemize.  That first interview screen needs a major re-work with an explanation.  The length of this thread demonstrates their is a problem.

Cheers to all