Amend 2019 CA State Return Supporting Documents

[jm1991]

Hello,

I am going to submit an amended California return.

I forgot to check the box that my W2 income was paid family leave.  After I check this box I get a refund instead of owing money for California, the Federal return stays the same.

3 questions:

1) Do I have to or should I submit the 1040X federal return to the IRS even though there is no change to the refund?

2) California asks for the1040X federal return should I send it even if I don't send it to the IRS?

3) Should I submit a copy of my W2 with the California return?

Thank you,

[BMcCalpin]

Before you send in your amended return, I want to be sure that you actually received "paid family leave" (PFL) as defined in the Tax Code of the State of California.

Did you receive this PFL on the W-2 from your employer? If so, it is likely not the PFL that is tax-free in California. It is legally PFL only if your employer is willing to put it in writing that it came from your VPDI insurance carrier.

Please read the TurboTax FAQ below. Please come back if you have any questions.

Paid Family Leave California FAQ

Paid Family Leave (PFL) is income that is taxable on the federal return but is non-taxable on the California state return if it

• is paid by the state's Employment Development Department (EDD) and appears on a 1099-G form –OR–
• is paid by an insurance company under a Voluntary Plan for Disability Insurance (VPDI) and reported on a W-2 from the insurance company.

To repeat: PFL is not included in your employer's regular W-2 but on a separate W-2 from the insurer.

Amounts called “PFL” that are paid by your employer and which appear on the W-2 from your employer (see last image below) are taxable both on the federal level and by the state of California.

When you mark a W-2 in TurboTax as being PFL, a screen about PFL appears in the California section of the interview.

**W-2 Interview**

**California Interview**

The amount of wages on the W-2 marked as PFL is displayed so you don't have to look it up, but you are asked enter the amount (if any) that was paid by an insurance company, and not your employer.

If none of the amount was paid by an insurance company but all of it was paid by your employer, then you must enter zero (0) in the wages box on this screen, because any amount reported by your employer in box 16 of a W-2 is considered by California as compensation for services or taxable fringe benefits.

Note that compensation for short-term disability, vacation days, sick leave, and other employer benefits are not considered to be tax-free PFL.