Question

Can I amend my 2018 tax return to use itemized deductions instead of the standard deduction? My itemized deductions are less, but my taxes will come out better.

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
February 16, 2020
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TurboTax Premier Online

Yes, you can amend your return to use itemized deductions instead of the standard deduction. But, I cannot envisage how you benefit from doing so when your itemized deductions are less than your standard deduction, unless there is some advantage on your state tax return. So, make sure you benefit once the amended return is prepared.

Click here for instructions on how to amend if you used TurboTax to file your 2018 return

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A

ajbroganAuthor

Hi there and thanks for the reply. Please let me know HOW to select itemized deductions within the TurboTax Online version. I've started a 2018 amendment in the online version and can't find anywhere to select itemized rather than standard deduction. The software is simply defaulting to using the standard deduction because it's larger than my itemized deduction. What the software is NOT doing is checking which option gives me a bigger refund.

The way that I benefit from using itemized deductions surprised me this year as well. It's because all my itemized deductions are charitable contributions, and I realized that the AMT treats charitable contributions very favorably and the standard deduction very unfavorably. In 2019, my itemized deductions are $6,096 while the standard deduction is $24,400. Using the itemized deductions gives me about $6000 more in refund. Shocking, right?! So, I want to check whether 2018 is similar and I'm due more refund.