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September 22, 2025
11:26 AM
My child just started her first year at college. She decided last minute to change from living on campus to commuter status however the bill for on-campus room and board was already paid for with 52...
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My child just started her first year at college. She decided last minute to change from living on campus to commuter status however the bill for on-campus room and board was already paid for with 529 funds. A refund was just received by my child for $7500. I'm not planning to return the funds to the 529 plan for several reasons. Does the following make sense? 1. I'm planning to use the 2025-26 Cost of Attendance expenses provided by the college. When living with parents it's $5,166 for food and $1000 for housing. But that is for the full school year. How do I clearly (for my records) distribute the COA allowance? Half for 2025 and half for 2026? 2. I do not want to charge my child rent because then I would have to claim that as income and defeats the purpose of the tax shelter. But it sounds like the food expenses are legit. Can I add on proportional monthly housing expenses other than rent? Such as her direct proportional use of utilities (quite expensive), homeowners insurance, maintenance and upkeep, etc.) 3. Do I need to record the actual food expenses, or do I need to contact the school to understand their "living with parent" calculations? Or is it better to keep it simple and use COA provided by the college for my records? 4. The refund check was sent to my child. Does it matter from a reporting standpoint if she signs it over to me? She is our dependent. 5. Whatever remains from the refund as non-qualified for 2025, I am planning to use toward the 2026 spring semester tuition which needs to be paid in December 2025. Lastly, this is my first time using the 529. How well does the TurboTax questionnaire handle a refund other than asking for my 1099-Q? Thanks in Advance!!
September 22, 2025
11:26 AM
Here's my concern, which @dmertz touched upon, but I want to make it more explicit.
You took money that was not taxable and made it taxable. Suppose you had $10,000 in a savings account, and y...
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Here's my concern, which @dmertz touched upon, but I want to make it more explicit.
You took money that was not taxable and made it taxable. Suppose you had $10,000 in a savings account, and you are looking at a decision to either contribute $56K to the 401K and live off your present income and not touch the savings; or contribute $66K to the 401k and withdraw the $10,000 for living expenses.
If you left the $10,000 in the savings account until you retired, you could withdraw it tax-free. You would of course pay tax on the interest each year, but the principal balance is not taxed when you withdraw it. Or, if the money was invested in mutual funds outside of an IRA or 401k, you would pay yearly tax on some dividends, and you would pay tax on capital gains when you withdraw in retirement at the lower capital gains rate, and the principal would still be tax-free. By taking the money out of savings and putting it into the 401k, you reduced your present taxes, and you eliminate the annual taxes on the interest, but that $10,000 now becomes taxable when you withdraw in retirement.
I can't take the time to figure out which is a better deal (and I'm not sure I have the skills), but if this situation comes up again, you may want to discuss with a financial planner, whether you should max out the 401k if it requires withdrawing from savings or cashing in investments that might have a lower tax rate when you retire.
September 22, 2025
11:06 AM
@Co1238 wrote: My PC is compatible and I get from them is get ready. Are you absolutely certain you have TPM 2.0? You can check by pressing the Windows key (+R) and then typing TPM.msc in th...
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@Co1238 wrote: My PC is compatible and I get from them is get ready. Are you absolutely certain you have TPM 2.0? You can check by pressing the Windows key (+R) and then typing TPM.msc in the box. Press enter to open the TPM Management console There's also a YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrF3Fb2kzkY&t=87s
September 22, 2025
11:03 AM
So if I pay 110% of what is in Line 31 of the CA 540 am I safe (assuming I make over 150k but under 1M) and will avoid a penalty regardless of what my actual income for 2025 will be? Or should I use ...
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So if I pay 110% of what is in Line 31 of the CA 540 am I safe (assuming I make over 150k but under 1M) and will avoid a penalty regardless of what my actual income for 2025 will be? Or should I use Line 42? My line 31 and 42 from last year's returns are quite different because I moved to the state mid-year
September 22, 2025
10:58 AM
Filing a 3115 for unclaimed depreciation for two rental properties; a large amount of money I thought I'd be getting back this year, but, apparently, I did not take into account loss limitation of $2...
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Filing a 3115 for unclaimed depreciation for two rental properties; a large amount of money I thought I'd be getting back this year, but, apparently, I did not take into account loss limitation of $25,000. This means there is basically no change in my refund at all as I reached that amount with normal rental expenses and some cap improvements this year. Is there any way to get some or all of this money back this year? How do I carry forward this loss each year? Or does it carry forward indefinitely until I sell the property and how does that calculation work? Thank you in advance for looking at this!
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1. Son enrolled in Fall Semester for 2 courses. Paid fees from personal bank account as the tuition deadline was too close to send from 529 plan as their usual check delivery to school can take 2-3 w...
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1. Son enrolled in Fall Semester for 2 courses. Paid fees from personal bank account as the tuition deadline was too close to send from 529 plan as their usual check delivery to school can take 2-3 weeks. 2. Later son decided to enroll in one more course totaling 3 3. Sent payment for all 3 courses from 529 as this was a qualified withdrawal and I know school would refund the previously sent money (2 courses) 4. Son decided to defer his Fall semester and dropped out of Fall semester 5. School issued a check for the 2 courses paid from personal bank account 6. School did not encash the 529 check (for 3 courses) and sent it back to us Vanguard (529 plan) says since the school has not encashed the check and sent a refund to the plan owner, cannot do a recontribution to the same student. Instead they can stop payment and contribute the amount to another (student's brother) account as a rollover contribution to avoid Tax consequence. Is there any other option around this? Thank you
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September 22, 2025
10:50 AM
1 Cheer
Thank you. I did miss that. Makes sense now. Have a great day.
September 22, 2025
10:37 AM
@Co1238 I didn't have any trouble upgrading my Windows 10 to 11 back in June and it had been asking me to upgrade for a long time. Try updating 10 some more. Maybe there are some Windows 10 updat...
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@Co1238 I didn't have any trouble upgrading my Windows 10 to 11 back in June and it had been asking me to upgrade for a long time. Try updating 10 some more. Maybe there are some Windows 10 updates stuck.
September 22, 2025
10:35 AM
On my K-1 there are four different amounts listed under Code Z Section 199A: ordinary income, self employment wages, W-2 wages and unadjusted basis of assets. Which value should be entered in TT
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September 22, 2025
10:29 AM
I too do not have Widows 11 yet and seems like Microsoft is slow rolling downloads. My PC is compatible and I get from them is get ready. I'm ready but still not releasing the download for Windows ...
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I too do not have Widows 11 yet and seems like Microsoft is slow rolling downloads. My PC is compatible and I get from them is get ready. I'm ready but still not releasing the download for Windows 11. Please reconsider making Turbo Tax compatible with windows 10.
September 22, 2025
9:49 AM
For a heat pump, the credit is 30% of the cost up to $2000. You can include costs for labor and site preparation (necessary plumbing, wiring, etc.). It must be installed and operating before Decembe...
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For a heat pump, the credit is 30% of the cost up to $2000. You can include costs for labor and site preparation (necessary plumbing, wiring, etc.). It must be installed and operating before December 31, 2025. The date you paid for it does not count either way, if you pay in 2025 and it is installed in 2026 it is not eligible, if you install it in 2025 with a loan to pay over time, you claim the whole credit in 2025.
You can claim the credit for a dwelling where you live, it does not have to be your main home.
The unit must meet or exceed the CEE Top Tier Efficiency Standard (not including any advanced tier). For example, if the CEE has a Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 and Advance Tier for heat pump ACs, your unit must meet or exceed the requirements of Tier 3. Not all units meet the standard and and units that do meet the standard may be considerably more expensive than average. You can rely on the manufacturer's certification or check the CEE web site. https://cee1.org/program-resources/tiers-and-energy-star/
September 22, 2025
9:35 AM
@craignancy Yes, I did read your post several times before I posted. It was not clear and all ran together. And you didn't say that those were the choices you were given. So is your 2024 ef...
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@craignancy Yes, I did read your post several times before I posted. It was not clear and all ran together. And you didn't say that those were the choices you were given. So is your 2024 efile rejecting? What is the reject message or code? A common reason is for the wrong 2023 AGI. Try entering 0 for the AGI. The IRS might have processed your return later so the AGI didn't get entered in time. Especially if you mailed it. That works for most people. See, https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/rejections/help/what-if-i-entered-the-correct-agi-and-i-m-still-getting-an-e-file-reject/00/27031 How to correct the AGI in the Online version https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/agi/help/where-do-i-correct-my-agi-in-turbotax-online/00/26311 If you can’t get it to efile you will have to print and mail it. https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/printing/help/how-do-i-print-and-mail-my-return-in-turbotax-online/00/26258 Be sure to attach copies of your W2s and any 1099s that have withholding on them. You have to mail federal and state in separate envelopes because they go to different places. Get a tracking number from the post office when you mail them for proof of filing.
September 22, 2025
9:22 AM
No one has access to your TT account or to your tax return. You can enter an updated account for your refund when you are ready to go through the FILE section to file your return.
You ha...
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No one has access to your TT account or to your tax return. You can enter an updated account for your refund when you are ready to go through the FILE section to file your return.
You have to go to Step 2 in the FILE section.
HOW TO CHANGE OR ENTER BANKING INFORMATION FOR REFUND
https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/change-transferred-direct-deposit-information/L77NCbU6D_US_en_US?uid=m6tuh572
You cannot change banking information while your return is in pending, nor can you change it after the return is accepted. The IRS does not allow it.
September 22, 2025
9:20 AM
Can you do that for me now?
September 22, 2025
8:58 AM
as stated, a self-prepared/e-file return does not have form 8879. if you preview the return there is a Postmark Report which provides date and time of submission as well as date of acceptance that ca...
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as stated, a self-prepared/e-file return does not have form 8879. if you preview the return there is a Postmark Report which provides date and time of submission as well as date of acceptance that can be printed out. If whomever is asking won't accept the report, ask them what they will accept, and we may be able to provide guidance on how to get it.
September 22, 2025
8:42 AM
Very disappointed that It’s Deductible is going away. I love using it. And why October 21. At least should be available until the end of the year.
September 22, 2025
8:33 AM
Did you tell the trustee that this was a corrective distribution of excess contributions, or did you just make a regular withdrawal? A corrective distribution probably required extra paperwork. The...
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Did you tell the trustee that this was a corrective distribution of excess contributions, or did you just make a regular withdrawal? A corrective distribution probably required extra paperwork. The trustee should have returned the $7000 plus any earnings that could be attributed to the contribution (any gains or growth). For example, if there was $50 growth between November and December, you should have withdrawn $7050. Box 1 would show $7050, box 2A would show $50, there would be no withholding, and box 7 would have codes 8 and J, not just J.
It sounds like this was processed as a regular withdrawal. (Are there still earnings in the account? Did it earn nothing?)
If you asked for a corrective return of excess contributions and they processed it incorrectly, and you can prove it, they should issue a corrected 1099-R. However, if you just asked for a withdrawal, then you did it wrong and you are stuck with the consequences.***
Delete the 1099-R and start the Roth IRA section over. Report that you made $7000 of contributions. When you are told you are ineligible and asked if you removed the excess, say no. You will be assessed a 6% penalty, or $420. Then enter the 1099-R as a regular withdrawal from the Roth IRA. You will be asked about prior contributions and prior withdrawals. Since you had no prior contributions (except the $7000 from 2024) and no prior withdrawals, this $7000 represents a withdrawal of contributions and should not be subject to income tax. So you should net a $280 return of the $700 withholding.
***I think it is too late to try to recharacterize the contribution as a non-deductible traditional IRA to do a backdoor Roth. I think taking a regular withdrawal messed up that option. But @dmertz might have a different option. Are you just late for 2024, or did you request an extension before April 15?
September 22, 2025
8:32 AM
Donations are not being added to your standard deduction. You forgot that since you are both 65 or older, that there is $1550 per spouse added to the married filing jointly standard deduction for ...
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Donations are not being added to your standard deduction. You forgot that since you are both 65 or older, that there is $1550 per spouse added to the married filing jointly standard deduction for 2024. Standard deduction for a joint return is $29,200 + $1550 for each spouse who is 65 or older. You should be seeing $32,300 on line 12.
September 22, 2025
8:20 AM
With a reverse mortgage, interest isn’t deductible until it’s actually paid, usually when the loan is repaid (sale, move-out, or death). Fees like origination, appraisal, credit report, title, and go...
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With a reverse mortgage, interest isn’t deductible until it’s actually paid, usually when the loan is repaid (sale, move-out, or death). Fees like origination, appraisal, credit report, title, and government charges aren’t immediately deductible. Mortgage insurance may be required, depending on IRS rules. You can read more about reverse mortgage interest tax deductions.
September 22, 2025
8:18 AM
With a reverse mortgage, interest isn’t deductible until it’s actually paid, usually when the loan is repaid (sale, move-out, or death). Fees like origination, appraisal, credit report, title, and go...
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With a reverse mortgage, interest isn’t deductible until it’s actually paid, usually when the loan is repaid (sale, move-out, or death). Fees like origination, appraisal, credit report, title, and government charges aren’t immediately deductible. Mortgage insurance may be required, depending on IRS rules. You can read more about reverse mortgage interest tax deductions here.