Retirement tax questions

The CHET deduction does not appear on the front page of your return‌. It must first pass through Schedule 1.

1. Check Schedule 1, Line 48: In the official Connecticut return, CHET contributions are listed as a subtraction on Line 48 (titled "CHET contributions").
2. Check Form CT-1040, Line 4: The total from Schedule 1 (which includes your $10,000) flows to Line 4 of your main CT-1040.
3. The Result: Your Connecticut AGI (Line 5) should be exactly $10,000 lower than your Federal AGI (Line 1). If Line 5 is $10,000 less than Line 1, the software is working correctly.

If you’ve checked those lines and the $10,000 is missing, it is usually due to one of these three things:

1. Filing Status Limits: The deduction is capped at $5,000 for Single/Head of Household and $10,000 for Married Filing Jointly. If you are filing Single but entered $10,000, TurboTax will automatically cap the actual deduction at $5,000 on the form.
2. Connecticut needs you to give the CHET account number and beneficiary name for the deduction to work. If you skipped these "optional-looking" boxes in the interview, TurboTax may drop the deduction because the form is technically incomplete.
3. Check to see you didn't accidentally enter the contribution under "Refund Voluntary Contributions." There is a separate section where you can choose to give your refund to a CHET account. This is not the deduction section. You want the one under "Income Handles Differently" specifically.