Question

Sale St

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
February 22, 2025
2 replies
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In Texas, local tax is not charged so the rate paid for buying a vehicle is 6.25% while buying a shirt is 8.25%. It seems that the 2024 Turbo Tax can't accommodate that. HELP please.

B

BillM223

What do you mean "TurboTax 2024 can't handle that"?

When you go into Deductions & Credits->Estimates and Other taxes paid->Sales Tax, did you see the question about whether or not you should continue with the sales tax entries (because for 90% of taxpayers, the Standard Deduction is better)? And when you clicked on "Let's try the sales tax deduction anyway", did you do EasyGuide and enter that you had a major purchase in 2024?

I just made the entries for a 6.25% tax rate on an auto purchase without a problem, so I would like to know why you are having issues. Tell me what you did step by step...

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O

Opus 17

Can you explain more of what you mean?

The instructions for the sales tax deduction are that you can deduct taxes if you pay the "general sales tax rate." I don't know Texas, but I used to live in New York, and New York State charges 4%, and local counties can add on top of that, so Monroe County was 8.25% and Ontario county was 8%, for example. Because you can only deduct sales tax paid at the general rate, you couldn't deduct the taxes on liquor or gasoline (which were separate taxes from general sales tax).

There are special rules for food and automobiles. You can deduct the actual tax you paid if it is less than the general sales tax rate, but if the tax rate is more than the general sales tax rate, you can only deduct up to the general sales tax rate for those items. (For example, where I now live in Virginia, the general sales tax rate is 6.5%. Restaurants in the city limits have a 11% restaurant tax, some grocery items are tax-free and some grocery items have a 1% sales tax. I could deduct 6.5% for in-city restaurant meals, 1% for taxed grocery items, and nothing for non-taxed grocery items.)

With that baseline, what is your actual question. Are you trying to use the actual method (where you add up all your receipts and deduct what you actually paid) or are you using the optional standard method (where the IRS assigns a deduction based on your estimated spending based on your income and where you live)?

And if you are using the optional standard method, and you want to add the tax paid on the purchase of a car, what problem are you seeing?

P

PeteWebb1Author

Opus17,, thanks for the explanation. I understand all that you said. I found the problem with what I was doing. I had incorrectly identified my specific tax item as a mobile home. It is a motor home. Mobile homes can only be deducted if the tax rate is the same as the general rate Motor homes can be deducted at the rate actually paid.

My apologies for your time spent helping me. Once I corrected to a motor home, Turbo Tax allowed me to include it

Thanks again for your help

Pete