On Deductions & Credits Summary all Charity, Mort Interest, Taxes are Zero. And State taxes >$10k shows neg number. Is this accurate? Total Deduction is $20k < 2017.

[Huntergts]

On Deductions & Credits Summary page all my Charity, Mortgage Interest, Real Estate Taxes, and State Taxes are showing as Zero. And State taxes >$10k shows as a negative number. Is this accurate? How do I fix this.  My Total Deduction is $20k less than 2017.

[AnthonyC]

The negative amount is the amount of your disallowed state and local income and property taxes.  Due to tax reform, there is a $10,000 maximum on the total amount of both of these deductions combined.  TurboTax is showing you the amount you are not able to claim with that negative number.  It's only for your reference - it doesn't get factored into the return.

It shows you are using the standard deduction of $24,000 this year, which is why you are seeing 0s for the other itemized deductions.  

Your total deductions are much less this year mostly because of the loss of the personal exemptions.  But, note that your Child and Other Dependent Credit is much larger this year.  Credits are more beneficial than deductions because they reduce tax liability directly dollar for dollar.

[Huntergts]

I suppose this makes sense, but perhaps TurboTax should display it in a different format.  How much more in mortgage interest and Property taxes would you think I'd have to have in order to take the deductions?  This new change really disincentivizes charitable giving from a tax incentive as well.  We consistently donate over $6,000 a year to charity that is not deducted.

[AnthonyC]

Since you are using the desktop program, you can switch to Forms Mode and click Open Form.  Search for Schedule A and this should force open the Schedule A even though you aren't using it.  You should be able to see your numbers on the form and how close you are to itemizing if you compare it to the standard deduction amount.

Yes, decreased charitable giving is something many charities are worried about with the new tax laws as an unintended consequences of expanding the standard deduction.  But, depending on the state that you live in, you may still see a state tax benefit as not all states are conforming to the federal law and some will allow you to still itemize when you take the standard for federal.