Itemized Deduction greater than standard but refund amount the same either way?

[squirlz]

Hello,

TurboTax suggests going with the federal itemized deductions of $16,809 instead of the standard deduction of $12,700 because it will save us money. However, the refund amount has not changed. I switched back and forth between the standard and itemized deductions but the refund amount is still unaffected. Why? Shouldn't an itemized deduction that is over $4,000 greater than the standard deduction cause the amount owed/refunded to change?

[SteamTrain]

Depends....

.... a fair number of folks are already getting ALL of their prior tax withholding refunded by the time the Std Deduction is reached...so adding $1billion more deductions doesn't get you any more refund.