Question

Itemized deductions

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
December 26, 2019
2 replies
0 views

I am trying to do 2018 taxes and for some reason my mortgage interest is not being recognized in itemized deductions. Am I doing something wrong?

TurboTax

B

bubbafrombama

I asked a similar question earlier. Previously, Congress had allowed the "Tax Extenders" to expire, which allowed MIP to be deducted. However, on 12/20/2019, the President signed a bill into law that allows for this again (includes for tax year 2018, as well). Hopefully TurboTax will update their software with these changes soon so we can file/amend 2018 with these new deductions.

X

xmasbaby0

Employee

You will have to be patient. The ink is barely dry on the tax law change. Now the IRS has to change the tax forms to include the law change, and all the tax software has to be changed and approved by the IRS before the tax forms will correctly show this very recent change. And you have three years from the original filing deadline to file an amended tax return and still receive any additional refund.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

rjs

Employee

Are you asking about mortgage interest or mortgage insurance premiums? bubbafrombama and xmasbaby0 thought you were asking about mortgage insurance premiums.

If you are asking about mortgage interest, it should be showing up on your Schedule A. The new bill that was just passed last week did not make any change regarding mortgage interest. Please clarify exactly what you mean by "not being recognized." If you look at Schedule A in forms mode, is the mortgage interest shown on line 8a? If it's there, but it is not reducing your tax, your total itemized deductions might be less than your standard deduction. After you have entered all your deductions, what are the exact amounts on Schedule A line 17 and Form 1040 line 8?

If you are asking about mortgage insurance premiums, what you hear is correct, unless you want to wait until the IRS has issued revised forms and TurboTax has been updated. But that could be quite a while. The three-year deadline is for getting a refund. If you owe tax, you can wait as long as you like to file (until the IRS starts sending you notices). But you have already incurred penalties and interest, and they keep accruing. The longer you wait, the more your penalties and interest will be. So you are better off filing now without the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums, then amending later if the additional deduction saves you money.