Question

While my federal return will be the same, I want to switch my deduction from standard to itemized. My itemized is more, and I want to see if that will do two things:

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
February 13, 2020
2 replies
0 views

1. Reduce my blended tax rate
2. Increase my Energy Tax Credit carryforward for 2020 (because less gets used this year as a result of a lower tax rate)

The software ignores my choice of itemized when I select it and hit continue.

TurboTax Deluxe Online

LindaB1993

How to change from the standard deduction to itemized?

With your tax return open, select Federal from the navigation menu on the left (if you're doing this on a mobile device, you'll probably need to scroll down).
Now select Deductions & Credits near the top of your screen.
Proceed through the screens, answering questions as necessary. Eventually you'll come to the screen Based on what you just told us, the Standard Deduction is best for you or Based on what you just told us, itemizing deductions is best for you.
On that screen, pictured below, select Change my deduction. You'll get a pop-up showing how much each deduction is worth.
From here, you can either change your deduction by selecting it and continuing forward or cancel out.
- Please note that if you're switching to the itemized deduction from Free Edition, you'll need to upgrade to Deluxe, as Free Edition doesn't handle Schedule A.

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R

rdm_bernardAuthor

Thank you Linda.....but the problem is it won't ALLOW me to change from standard to itemized. I choose itemized, and it automatically defaults back to standard, telling me it's "better". It's not better, it's the EXACT same refund either way. I want to see the version of my return with deductions itemized for reasons stated in the OP.

ColeenD3

In the screen shot below, you can make your choice. Although it appears that your are being give the Standard Deduction by the picture, underneath it, you will see the following text,

"Since you'd get the same tax break either way, we recommend taking the Standard Deduction. This will prevent itemizations from impacting your taxes next year.

You've chosen itemized deductions, so let's keep going and lock that in for you."

You will also be prompted to upgrade to Deluxe if you haven't already.

"

R

rdm_bernardAuthor

For anyone who finds this and has the same problem:

Short Answer: Ignore what the program is telling you while working your federal return, and go through to the very end to see what it's REALLY doing with regards to your deductions.

After speaking with 4 Cust. Service reps (they were actually pretty good too!), the final one escalating to a T2 tech, I was enrolled in LiveTax and given a discount code. They wanted me to work through the program/taxes with one of their tax experts.

After an hour or so with her, the program FINALLY shook loose at the end of the federal process and gave me my itemized deductions (which lowered my tax liability and raised my energy credit carryover for next year by about $3k). BEWARE: The screen discussed above, at the end of the deductions/credit section, NEVER changed. It continually said it was giving me the standard deduction even though my itemized was over $24k. However, at the end of the process, we opened up the linked text that lets you see your deductions in detail and the work sheet finally revealed the itemized deductions being applied (even though the program was telling us otherwise earlier in the process). We were both pleasantly surprised.