KCinIN
Returning Member

Retirement tax questions

As I read this post, I think I am having the same issue.  I had contributed to a Roth account prior to completing my TurboTax entries, only to find I was over the limit for a Roth contribution.  So, I am in the process of recharacterizing my Roth contributions as traditional IRA contributions, including reporting the recharacterization in TurboTax.  I was expecting TurboTax to confirm that I was making a "non-deductible" contribution to my traditional IRA.  Instead, TurboTax is telling me I am making an "excess" contribution to my traditional IRA and that I am subject to the excess contribution penalty.
My questions:
1. I didn't think one could make an excess contribution to a traditional IRA, that excess only applied for a Roth IRA.  Why would this contribution trigger an excess contribution penalty warning?

2. I am over 50 so the $7000 involved should not be "excess" anything.  With the recharacterization I should be contributing at my limit to the traditional IRA, and no penalty should apply.  Why the warning?