Mortgage interest not counting towards deductions

[ims_badger]

For some reason, when I enter my mortgage interest information from my 1098 forms, it doesn't seem to count towards my deductions.  My interest paid should push me well past the standard deduction.  The software gives no indication of why it's not counting it, but if I force it to use my itemized deductions against its recommendation, I can see it has 0 for my mortgage interest, even though I've entered the data.  Help!!

[texas-jazz]

You need to check if you answered 'Yes this loan is secured by a property of mine' when putting in the interest. That should make it count in your deductions. Same thing happened to me in the past.

[ims_badger]

It never asks that question explicitly.  I went in, deleted the entries and re-entered them, but I don't get asked that question.

Does anyone here know how to get actual technical support from Intuit?

[LeonardS]

Mortgage interest will only count towards deductions if you are itemizing your deductions.  TurboTax automatically calculates if you should itemized your deductions or take the standard deduction.

The standard deductions for 2019 are.  

• Single - $12,200 add $1,650 if age 65 or older add.  

• Married Filing Separately - $12,200 add $1,300 if age 65 or older. 

• Married Filing Jointly - $24,400 add $1,300 for each spouse age 65 or older.   

• Head of Household - $18,350 add $1,650 if age 65 or older.   

[notrocketscience]

I am having the exact same problem.  It asks if box 7 is checked and I say yes (meaning mortgage is for my primary home), but it still does not count the deduction.  

(No, it is not because my deductions add up to less than $24,400.  It should be FAR greater.  TurboTax very clearly did not count the mortgage interest.  The interest is fully deductible and has been in past years, so it is not the new tax law either. )

[ims_badger]

Yes, it's doing it incorrectly, because it isn't counting my mortgage interest in the calculation.

Does anyone know how to get actual help so I can determine if the bug is mine or Intuit's?  I'm pretty sure it's not mine.

[ims_badger]

I got off the phone with technical support.  (You need to allow ads and popups to get a support number from the website.)  They agreed that there was something wrong, perhaps with the installed software, but then closed my case without resolving it.  Come on, Intuit, I've been a customer for years but you're about to lose me.

[ims_badger]

I have found the bug, by going back to the beginning and re-entering everything very carefully, and keeping copies of the tax return file as I went.

Everything is OK up to the federal return review.  It finds an "error" on the "Tax & Int Wks".  The box there asking if my mortgage interest [deduction] needs to be limited is checked "y", but this should be "n", according to the instructions there and in the appropriate IRS publications.

The lesson is that during reviews, check every question against the form it is asking about.  Often these are in worksheets used to build up the final return, and in this case there is a logic bug someplace.

[wolga]

I had the same problem. Thank you, your solution worked! Hope TT doesn't revert at final review 🙂

[fredlicn]

This solution works for me as well, thank you so much for sharing!  @ims_badger 

It's absurd that TurboTax hasn't yet fixed this ridiculous bug! We are talking about lots of money here (the return w/ vs w/o the bug) and TurboTax should be accountable for fixing it asap. Does anyone know what's the easiest way to report such severe bug to TurboTax? 

[bobdobilina]

I am having the same problem. Just to clarify, the only solution is to start the tax return again fully from the beginning?

[Jbean220]

It’s 2021 and I’m having this exact same issue. They told me it’s a known issue. I’ve tried deleting all of the 1098 forms and adding the info back in and it isn’t fixing it. 

[JoannaB2]

Yes, you may claim mortgage interest deduction on a loan used to buy/build a home up to $750,000 for married filing joint ($375,000 for married filing separate). The home mortgage loan must be secured by the property to qualify for the deduction. The following are steps to enter deductible home mortgage interest:

1. Login to Turbo Tax.
2. Under Federal Taxes, in Deduction and Credit tab, click "I'll choose what I work on".
3. Under " Your 2020 Deduction and Credit", click update or start next to Mortgage Interest, Refinancing, and Insurance.
4. Under " Home Loan deduction summary" click edit  and enter the lender's information, one at a time.
5. Click continue until you get to the screen " Is this loan secured by a property of yours?" 
6. Click Done.
7. The next screen is a question " Do any of the situation apply to you?". Your answer here will determine if your loan exceeded the allowed home mortgage loan amount.

See, why is my home mortgage, if you encountered any issues,

[bobdobilina]

Joanna... that's not this users issue. They have done what you suggested. There is a bug in the software that then incorrectly limits the mortgage interest in a form.

[bobdobilina]

JBean 2020... the solution is here:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-credits-deductions/discussion/re-mortgage-interest-not-transfe...

You need to go to forms. Select the worksheet noted in the post above and make the change.

No idea why turbotax hasn't fixed it... but luckily the community has come to the rescue.