TurboTax ERRORS (?) calculating penalties on Inherited IRA RMDs

I am the sole non-spouse / non-dependent beneficiary to two inherited IRAs from decedents who passed in  2020. I am aware of the Secure Act. I've met all the requirements using a CPA x 3 yrs and as of 2024, filed successfully on my own using TurboTax. This is my second attempt filing with Turbo but it's not straightforward.  The IRS requires me to empty the inherited IRAs within 10 years of the deaths; thus, I must take a far greater distribution than the minor RMDs calculated by my financial institution. Due to the change in law that waived some distributions without penalty post-COVID, this is the first year I must also take an RMD from the inherited Roth in addition to the two regular IRAs.  I tried first to manually enter the 1099-R info (separately, for all three IRAs). I answered that "ALL" of the distributions were to satisfy the RMD.  When asked, I identified the far lesser RMD value calculated by my brokerage. In review, Turbo T keeps flagging this is an an error with a pop up window explaining corrections and penalties. Knowing this is wrong, I deleted them all and opted to upload each 1099-R so TurboT could import the data. This time, I box-selected that only "PART" of the distribution was to satisfy the RMD (true--the excess should just be taxed as ordinary income). I again specified actual distribution amount in Box 1, and later the lesser RMD amount identified by my brokerage firm. I got the same results.  Turbo flags this for errors and up to 25% penalties.

 

I am inclined to think I correctly changed my answer that "PART" of the distribution is to satisfy the RMD because the excess I take is merely to empty these accounts in 10 years per the Secure Act. I don't want a massive balloon payment in the highest tax bracket in year 10 so I've chosen instead to equally divide the total by the number of years remaining. Box 7 on the two regular IRAs is Coded as "4." On the Roth, I took only a few cents in excess of the broker's RMD calc just to round up to the nearest dollar. The Roth has a Code "T" code in Box 7. Per research, T is for people who didn't own the Roth for at least five years before taking first withdrawal. I believe that is incorrect but will have to research. Even if it is correct, the internet claims that beneficiaries are not penalized for withdrawal if five years didn't pass.  They've now been deceased five years so why it's not coded as a "4" also, I'm unclear. I am sure I don't have to pay a penalty but at this point I cannot file my taxes due to the miscalculation on the part of TurboTax. I see several complaints on this glitch last year in community forums but none that match my situation exactly--and any fixes that were reported for 2024 filings are clearly not working for me for 2025 filings (as of this writing Feb. 22, 2026). 

 

SO: Do I answer PART or ALL of the distribution is to satisfy the RMD(s), and why can't Turbo see that if my broker states for example that $5,000 is the RMD, and I take four to five times greater, it's clearly satisfying the RMD without penalty? Nothing I'm doing is working. Thank you. I am using Intuit Turbo Tax "Do It Yourself" with standard deductions and no itemizing. Is that the "Basic" edition in the drop down menu below? I have an old MAC from 2013 using Catalina 10.15.8 using Google Chrome (so I know I don't get all the updates as I need 11.0 or higher.)