You are permitted to claim either your state withholding amount or sales tax deduction.
There are a few reasons you may want to force your sales tax deduction rather than use the State Withholding amount to figure your itemized deductions.
- If you live in a state with no state income tax, you may want to force a sales tax deduction on your return.
- If you make a large item purchase, such as a car or boat, you may want to force your sales tax deduction rather than your state withholdings deduction.
Program Entry
To force the program to use the Sales Tax Deduction, go to:
- Federal
- Deductions
- Select my forms
- Itemized Deductions
- Taxes You Paid
- Add Sales Tax Worksheet
What information will I need to enter?
- You will need the zip code(s) of the area(s) you lived in and the number of days you lived there.
- If you purchased a large item and want to add that to your sales tax deduction which is based on your income and the state and local tax rates, you will need to know the sales tax you paid for that item.
- If you know the total amount of sales tax you paid and wish to use the actual amount instead of the amount calculated based off of your income, you can use the override button and enter your actual amount instead. Please retain the receipts used to figure this amount in case the IRS requests proof.
You may find the IRS Sales Tax Deduction Calculator helpful in figuring the amount of state and local general sales tax you can claim when you itemize deductions on Schedule A (Forms 1040 or 1040-SR).