@dmertz OK, I THINK I'M ALMOST THERE...
1) You should probably file corrected Forms 8606 for yourself that failed to include on line 2 the previous year's correct line 14 amount.
I SEE HOW I CAN DO THAT BY GOOGLING "IRS 8606 2014" AND ETC. FOR THE VARIOUS YEARS FOR WHICH I HAVE AN 8606 (NONE OF WHICH SHOW CARRYOVERS). AND I SEE WHERE TO ACTUALLY SNAIL MAIL IT.
2) Make sure that your wife's traditional IRA contribution has been properly entered as her own contribution (not as any part of your own contribution) and that it is indeed nondeductible.
SO CONFUSING, SORRY...I SEE NOW IN OUR 2018 PDF THAT THERE ARE SEPARATE 8606s FOR BOTH MY WIFE AND I (THE CONFUSION GOING BACK I GUESS TO WHEN I WAS ASSUMING IT WAS ONE FORM FOR US AS A COUPLE). I'LL WATCH IT LIKE A HAWK NEXT YEAR TO MAKE SURE HER/OUR NON-DEDUCTIBLE INFO IS TRANSFERRED.
If you inadvertently indicate that you did not make nondeductible traditional IRA contributions, TurboTax will silently delete any of the basis information transferred...
THE "INADVERTENTLY INDICATE" THING SEEMS LIKE A REAL POSSIBILITY FOR WHAT I MAY HAVE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS.
How do I get Turbotax to reflect my corrected errors going forward? Do I just try and follow the prompts more correctly next tax year 2019 and police the carryover lines?
