All Posts

so sorry! I thought you were one of the experts and was very confused by your question thinking you "should know better" - profuse apologies for not understanding your question and the tone of my response or where you were coming from!  

We do not have an exact date.   Usually the desktop software becomes available in mid to late November, followed by online a week or two later.   Even when the new software is released it will require many updates.

@jrios58 wrote: I have a similar issue--I retired this year so my 6 month lookback falls partly into 2024.  I can correct the 2025, by calling the funds excess contributions, but should I file an amended return for 2024 so I can pay the penalty?   (My husband retires this year as well, at least we can fix his first!  What a hassle.  I had never heard of this rule before today!) Yes, for your 2025 contributions, you need to remove them as excess contributions before the April 15, 2026 tax filing deadline, along with any income that can be attributed to the contributions.  You lose the tax deduction, and the interest is taxable income, but there is no additional penalty.   For 2024, it is too late to use the special removal procedure.  You need to file an amended return indicating in the insurance interview that you were only HSA-qualified for some of the months (up to your back dated enrollment month). Turbotax will calculate the amount you were allowed to contribute.  If you contributed more than that amount, the excess will be added back to your taxable income (you lose the deduction) and you will be assessed a 6% penalty.  Then, you can remove the excess funds in 2025 by making a regular withdrawal NOT used for medical expenses.  The withdrawal is taxable (like an IRA) but because you are over age 65, it is not subject to any penalties.  (In other words, if your medical expenses for 2025 are $3000 and your excess from 2024 was $2000, you would withdraw $5000 in 2025.  The $2000 not used for medical expenses will count as a removal of the excess from 2024.)

You need to estimate your overall tax picture, including your RMD, Social Security, and any other income, and then use your RMD withholding to fill the gap.   IRA providers typically withhold 10% of your RMD for federal income taxes by default. This is optional, and you can adjust it up or down based on your needs. You can file Form W-4P with your IRA provider to change the withholding amount.   California taxes RMD withdrawals as ordinary income. Your RMD will be added to your other taxable income for the year. California's income tax brackets range from 1% to 13.3%, so the appropriate tax rate depends on your overall income.    @motalk55 Hope this helps!!

Regarding your last comment about avoiding the penalty if my tax return shows that I owe less than $1000, I'm having trouble squaring that statement with what I see at the top of the https://www.irs.gov/faqs/estimated-tax/individuals/individuals-2 page that you provided, where it says: " If you don't pay enough tax by the due date of each payment period, you may be charged a penalty even if you're due a refund when you file your income tax return at the end of the year." Can you resolve this seeming contradiction?        

@MJ Sally I am extremely curious if you figured it out as it seems noone has a definitive answer. Where you able to eFile with basically one Form 8938 and account numbers - 1 attachments of part V with Turbotax? My situation would be 10+ accounts in case you figured out some definitive number of account limitation. If you were not able to eFile with Turbotax , where you able to figure another solution to eFile as seemingly other tax software has the problem with Form 8938 and attachments also or did you end up filing by printing and mailing? Thanks. An answer would be very much appreciated. Like I said, extremely curious to get a real world evidence based answer.

If you mean you entered information to pay your tax by direct debit to the IRS or state, it is up to the IRS or state to perform that transaction.   TurboTax does not make your payment; TT only passes the information along to the IRS or state.  TurboTax never knows if the IRS (or state) received the payment or if your account was debited.   Call IRS e-file Payment Services 24/7 at 1-888-353-4537 to ask about or cancel your payment, but please wait 7 to 10 days after your return was accepted before calling.   You must pay your state tax due using the state’s preferred method of receiving payment.  For most states that will be by making a payment to the state’s own tax website, or by mailing a check or money order.     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/state-taxes/contact-state-department-revenue/L9qVToi02_US_en_US?uid=m6e06um0  

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.  Your answer was very confusing.  I am a single 67 year old retired man with no other income other than the $36,000 dollars LTCGs and a $4000 dollar RMD on an inherited IRA.  My LTCG rate is still zero because of this and with my single standardized deduction along with my deductions for being over 65 ,  my current federal income tax is also zero..  I have made no withdrawals from my IRA or 401 k this year.  I did have $20,000 cash in my brokerage account at the beginning of the year.  I have been able to pay all of my living expenses this year with these assets on a $5400/ month budget.

@Olivia342    Yes....uploading any form, using a picture or PDF, can definitely lead to mistakes on the form. The AI that does this interpretation is not perfect.  So it is essential that you review/edit every form that you upload from a picture or PDF. _________________ So   1) Go back thru that form's interview set of entries, and Edit the form (1099-R?), and correct the fields....carefully since some numbers occasionally get in the wrong boxes. ...or... 2)  Delete the incorrect form entirely, and re-enter it manually.  Do not upload a picture or PDF file.....look for the selection, lower down on the page to..."Type it in  myself".

Doing some tax planning now when you have 10 years before you have to take Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) gives you time to strategically leverage future taxable income. There are a lot of options to consider, such as converting IRA funds to a Roth IRA, looking into annuities, and making decisions on when is the best time to start collection Social Security.   Unfortunately there is no "one size fits all" answer to this question.  The best strategies for you may not be the best strategies for someone else, as effective tax planning shoud consider all aspects of your unique situation, such as your filing status, if you itemize or take the standard deduction, whether you have dependents that may not be dependents in the future, whether increased income might make you ineligible for certain tax credits, what is the impact on your social security benefits if you start collecting early, at full retirement age, or defer for a perod of time, etc.    I would strongly suggest that you work with a professional to project your annual income, taxes, and cash needs for the next 5-10 years, factoring in when you plan to start Social Security and when RMDs begin. This will help determine the best stategies that fit your situation.  

April:  TT "may" not support Win 10.  Now, definitely won't.  WTH? There are still many more Win 10 users than Win 11.  Microsoft is continuing Win 10 support for a year, if you sign up.  Win 11 may require a new computer.  And TT can't keep it going? Not comfortable with all my personal info being on Intuit's servers.  What a trove for hacking. Have used TT for decades, but am looking at H&R block or other more 2025 taxes. Fix this, Inuit!

Congratulations on your recent retirement!  Since your tax situation has changed significantly, this is an excellent time to review your potential income streams and maximize the tax efficiency of your withdrawals,  significantly impacting how long your money lasts.   First, lets discuss how each type of retirement income is taxed: Roth (IRA/401(k)): Qualified withdrawals (contributions and earnings) are tax-free. No Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) during the original owner's lifetime. Traditional/Rollover (IRA/401(k)): Withdrawals of pre-tax contributions and earnings are taxed as ordinary income. RMDs typically begin at age 73 (or 75 for certain birth years). Taxable Accounts (Brokerage): Withdrawals of original principal are generally not taxed. Earnings and gains are taxed annually as either ordinary income (interest, non-qualified dividends) or at lower long-term capital gains rates (for assets held over a year). Social Security: Deciding when to start collecting Social Security is a subject all on it's own! There are options to start collecting as early as age 62, but you will take a permanent decrease in benefits if you start social security before your full retirement age. Likewise, there are options to defer taking social security up until age 70 - by deferring, you will get a permanent increase in your benefits. Your social security benefits can be 0-85% taxable - the amount of taxable social security benefits is based on your filing status and the amount of your income for the year.   A  common, tax-efficient strategy used frequently is: Taxable Accounts: Tap these first to take advantage of the potentially lower long-term capital gains tax rates, especially if your income is low enough to qualify for the 0% capital gains bracket. This also allows your tax-advantaged accounts to continue to grow. Tax-Deferred Accounts (Traditional/Rollover): Withdraw from these second. These distributions are taxed as ordinary income and are subject to RMDs starting at the required age. Roth Accounts: Draw from these last. Since qualified withdrawals are tax-free and they have no RMDs, letting them grow for as long as possible provides a valuable source of tax-free income later in retirement.   Note that for 2025 there may be some strategies specific for this year.  Since you only worked for about half the year, you may be in a lower tax bracket this year. If that is the case, this low-income year could be a great time to consider converting some of your pre-tax retirement funds to a Roth IRA, paying tax at a lower rate than you might face later.   Although the above is a good starting point, the reality is that no one size fits all in figuring out what is the most tax efficent way of withdrawing retirement funds.  I would strongly suggest that you work with a professional to project your annual income, taxes, and cash needs for the next 5-10 years, factoring in when you plan to start Social Security and when RMDs begin. This will determine the best annual withdrawal amounts and sources.  

You didn't mention your filing status but look out for the long term cap gains on the 36k once your income goes above a certain level the tax on that moves from 0% to 15% which will cost $5400.  If you don't have any other income there should be some minimal amount of Roth Conversion which together with the RMD would offset your standard deduction (plus the additional $6k deduction form the 'big bill' for over 65s), and still keep your LTCG rate at 0%.  Above that amount you would start paying tax and the effective tax rate on that additional amount of Roth Conversion may be quite high when you take the jump in LTCG into account.   Check your safe harbor for estimated tax (see Form 2210 lines 1-9), the smaller of 100% of 2024 tax (110% if AGI > 150k or 75k if filing MFS), or 90% of 2025 tax.  If 2025 is a big jump in income when you start doing Roths then you would probably base this off 2024 tax.  Either way you may need to pay Q4 ES and then file Form 2210 AI to avoid a penalty.   If you continue to do Roth conversions annually, the advantage of a low prior year tax goes away and you should pay quarterly ES.  If you base the quarterly ES off prior year tax going forward it's a fixed known amount and it doesn't matter when you do the Roth conversions, and rather than waiting til year-end you do them right away to take more advantage of the tax exempt growth (i.e. you could do your 2026 Roth conversion in January not December).   If able, pay tax electronically and directly at irs.gov rather than checks/vouchers etc.   But these are considerations and tax math your wealth and accounting people should cover.

I think we all got the email cloroxmartini referred to several weeks or more back. Then Keela Robinson puts out her announcement DATED October 20, 2025. What kind of games are Turbotax playing with us? How do we contact someone from Turbotax, especially Keela Robinson to get a straight answer?   https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/articles/community-news-announcements/turbotax-windows-10-desktop-software-end-of-life/05/3708302