dmertz
Level 15

Retirement tax questions

@Katie_B , it seems doubtful that you are seeing the correct limits of $19,500 and $6,500 on lines 9 and 17, respectively.  Today's release, R16, still shows the 2019 limits of $19,000 and $6,000, respectively, being used in the calculations although the instruction text for these lines has been updated to show the 2020 limits.

 

However, I was mistaken that the calculation on Part V line 1 is incorrect, and that's probably what actually matters for filing, so the problem is not as bad as I thought.  The calculation on this line was corrected one week ago in release R15.

 

It's a bit unnerving that TurboTax displays all of the calculations on Part III then uses none of it to come up with the amount to use on Part V line 1, instead doing the same calculation as a hidden calculation.  However, it's not something I was previously unaware of.

 

I've uploaded a trivial test return, Token 725888, that has nothing but $100,000 of net profit from self-employment and a maximized 401(k) self-employed retirement contribution.  Simply open the Keogh, SEP and SIMPLE Contributions Worksheet to see that the incorrect values are on Part III lines 9 and 17 in the calculation.  Note that step-by-step mode does display on the Your Self-Employed Retirement Deduction page a value derived from the amounts on Part III lines 9 and 17, so users with sufficient income from self-employment are being mislead as to how much they are truly eligible to contribute.  (That page is also misleading in that it only shows elective deferrals and does not include the permissible employer contribution despite the title of the page.)