Buying and selling a home

It depends. You can always start with TurboTax Deluxe (which will cover your Schedule A deductions) and if you need to upgrade, TurboTax will prompt you. (All data will automatically transfer to your new upgraded version)

If you do not have to report the sale of your home (because you are claiming the home gain exclusion), you will be able to use TurboTax Deluxe to report any Schedule A deductions related to your home purchase.

For you home sale -

You do not need to enter or report the sale of your primary residence if:

• You never used your primary residence as a rental or took home office deduction
• You have a loss on the sale of your home (Personal capital losses are not reported on your tax return)
• You did not receive a Form 1099-S and
• You meet the home gain exclusion (see below)

You can take the gain exclusion as long as you considered the home your "primary residence" for 2 of the last 5 years. If you have a capital gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of that gain from your income. You may qualify to exclude up to $500,000 of that gain if you file a joint return with your spouse. See  Sale of Your Home for more information on the exclusion.

If you still need to enter your sale of your primary residence (which may require an upgrade in TurboTax), please follow these steps:

1. Once you are in your tax return (for TurboTax Online sign-in, click Here), click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in TurboTax Home & Business)
2. Next click on “Wages & Income” ("Personal Income" in TurboTax Home & Business)
3. Next click on “I’ll choose what I work on”
4. Scroll down the screen until to come to the section “Less Common Income”
5. Choose “Sale of Home (gain or loss)” and select “start’
6. You will want to use the "Easy Guide" to determine the adjusted basis on this home 

Say "yes" that you sold your main home and TurboTax will guide you on entering this information.  You will need:

• The date you sold your home and the selling price (from your closing statement)
• The date you bought your home and the purchase price (from your closing statement)
• The cost of any major improvements you made, so we can deduct them for you
• Form 1099-C if you sold your home at a loss (short sale)

Just remember to check the box to have your home sale reported on your tax return but ONLY if you receive a 1099-S

For your home purchase -

When you buy a home, you don't get anything just for buying your home (The first time homebuyer's credit expired years ago and has not been reinstated by congress). However, you are able to include certain items related to your home on your tax return. If you itemize, you get to take such things as:

• the interest that you pay on your mortgage
• real estate taxes
• mortgage Insurance
• points

For mortgage related information, your mortgage lender usually will sent you a Form 1098 which will include your mortgage information. (You may want to contact your bank to see when they will be sending out this information.)

For the real estate taxes, you will need to contact your local county government because they are usually the ones who do the property assessment and collect the property taxes. (Remember you are only allowed to deduction property taxes paid in the current year.)

Additionally, you may need your closing statement. This may contain information about points paid. (Contact your real estate agent if you need help with this statement.)

The only closing costs that may be deductible as a buyer of a house (if you are itemizing your deductions) would be amounts you paid at closing for any county or city taxes (additional property taxes), loan origination fees or loan discounts and prorated mortgage interest (if not included on your Form 1098 from your mortgage lender).

To enter your Property Taxes in TurboTax Online or Desktop (for TurboTax Online sign-in, click Here), please follow these steps:

1. Once you are in your tax return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in TurboTax Home & Business)
2. Next click on “Deductions and Credits”
3. Next click on "jump to full list" or “I’ll choose what I work on”
4. Scroll down the screen until to come to the section “Your Home”
5. Choose "show more", then Property Taxes and follow the onscreen instructions

To enter your Mortgage Interest in TurboTax Online or Desktop, please follow these steps:

1. Once you are in your tax return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in TurboTax Home & Business)
2. Next click on “Deductions and Credits”
3. Next click on "jump to full list" or “I’ll choose what I work on”
4. Scroll down the screen until to come to the section “Your Home”
5. Choose "show more", then Mortgage Interest, Refinancing and Insurance and follow the onscreen instructions. You will need to enter the Mortgage lender's name and interest expense.

To enter your Mortgage Insurance in TurboTax Online or Desktop, please follow these steps:

1. Once you are in your tax return, click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in TurboTax Home & Business)
2. Next click on “Deductions and Credits”
3. Next click on "jump to full list" or “I’ll choose what I work on”
4. Scroll down the screen until to come to the section “Your Home”
5. Choose "show more", then Mortgage Interest, Refinancing and Insurance and follow the onscreen instructions