All Posts

The “senior deduction” is added automatically by the software based on the date of birth and filing status you entered into MY INFO.  You do not need to take any extra steps to enter it. (And…the new senior deduction has nothing to do with whether you are getting Social Security)   The deduction is not on the same line as your standard deduction.  It is shown separately on line 13b.     2025 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS SINGLE $15,750  (65 or older/legally blind + $2000) MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $15,750  (65 or older/legally blind +1600) MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $31,500  (65 or older/legally blind + $1600) HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD $23,625 (65 or older/legally blind + $2000)     For 2025 through 2028 there is an extra  deduction amount of up to $6000 per individual 65 or older filing Single, MFJ, or HOH which is phased out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers.   (The deduction phases out completely at $175.000 Single or HOH, or $250,000 joint)   The $6,000 senior deduction will be calculated on 1040 Schedule 1-A page 2 Part V Enhanced Deduction for Seniors which goes to 1040 line 13b. It is separate and in addition to the Standard Deduction or your Itemized Deductions on 1040 line 12e.  Turbo Tax automatically includes it. IRS Schedule 1-A https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f1040s1a--dft.pdf   Need to see it? https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/preview-turbotax-online-return-filing/L77WCkvnu_US_en_US?uid=m681fkhr   If you are not getting the senior deduction it is because Your date of birth in MY INFO shows that you were not 65 by the end of 2025 Your income is too high You are filing married filing separately  

  MD Administrative release 5 deals with Mutual Fund Distributions of Tax-Exempt Interest and Capital Gains from State and Local Obligations and says this about capital gains:   C. Capital gains from the sale of mutual funds shares - Capital gains realized from the sale of shares in a mutual fund are subject to Maryland tax. In this respect, Maryland law follows federal law and the capital gains portion flows through from the federal return to the Maryland return without modification.   I can see this as a reason to exclude mutual fund CGs as a subtraction. However it does not take into account when there are US Government obligations identified in a brokerage statement for a fund that pays out CGDs.   MD Admin Release 11 deals specifically with Income from Regulated Investment Companies Which Invest in U.S. Government Obligations and Income from Repurchase Agreement Transactions. And says this:   Shareholders may subtract that portion of their distribution or dividend received from a mutual fund which represents United States government obligation interest even if the mutual fund receives less than 50% of its interest from United States government obligations.    I believe the word distribution is what Box 2A shows as a Total Capital Gain Distribution. I can find no further clarification on what "distribution" means.  and then this in the MD Code subparagraph 2 below: General Section 10-207   Article - Tax - General § 10-207.       (a)      To the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, the amounts under this section are subtracted from the federal adjusted gross income of a resident to determine Maryland adjusted gross income.         (b)      The subtraction under subsection (a) of this section includes a distribution, to a beneficiary, of accumulated income on which a fiduciary has paid the income tax.         (c)      The subtraction under subsection (a) of this section includes interest or dividends attributable to an obligation of the United States or an authority, commission, instrumentality, possession, or territory of the United States.         (c-1)      (1)      (i)      In this subsection, the following words have the meanings indicated.                     (ii)      "Mutual fund" means a regulated investment company as defined under § 851 of the Internal Revenue Code.                     (iii)      "United States government obligation" means an obligation of the United States or an authority, commission, instrumentality, possession, or territory of the United States.               (2)      The subtraction under subsection (a) of this section includes a distribution or dividend by a mutual fund of interest or dividends attributable to a United States government obligation.   Did someone just arbitrarily say that Admin Release 5 overides Release 11 and Section 10-207. If MD does not allow the subtraction then they should clarify MD Administrative Release 5 (and the MD tax code) with wording to the effect that Release 11 does not apply to Capital Gain Distributions even if documentation shows that all or a portion of the distribution came from U.S. Government Obligations.  Generally any USGO subtraction on the Maryland return turns out to be such a small amount that it rarely affects the bottom line, but still I have not found any definitive law or Administrative Release that prohibits taking the subtraction.  

If you would like to send us a “diagnostic” file that has your “numbers” but not your personal information it would help.  If you would like to do this, here are the instructions:  (Don't forget to give us the state)   TurboTax Online: Open your return -Go to the menu panel on the left side of your return and select Tax Tools.  Then select Tools below Tax Tools. A window will pop up which says Tools Center.   On this screen, select Share my file with Agent. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click okay through this screen and then you will get a Token number. Reply to this thread with your Token number and your state. This will allow us to open a copy of your return without seeing any personal information. TurboTax Desktop: If you like, you can send a copy of your return that will be scrubbed to eliminate your personal data by using these steps: Click on Online in the top left menu of TurboTax Desktop for Windows Select 'Send Tax File to Agent'* > Follow the prompts to reach the token number. Enter your email used for TurboTax > Enter your code > Send Write down or send an image of your token number and state then place in this issue. We can then review your exact scenario for a solution. Please also tell us any states included in the return. This is necessary for us to view the return. *If using a MAC, go to the menu at the top of the screen, select Help, then, 'Send Tax File to Agent')   We will be able to see exactly what you are seeing and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return to provide you with a resolution.   @kkjinhongmin 

The $200 rebate was a one time amount sent to everyone in Virginia.  The instructions cover this rebate:   <What if I have received a 1099-G from Illinois or Virginia? Due to recent IRS guidance, you may need to adjust the amount on your 1099-G if you were in one of the following states. If you itemized your deductions, you may be required to report the rebate amount you received as income on your federal return, depending on your circumstances. Click a state to learn more. Illinois Illinois will provide you a Form 1099-G if: 1. Your Illinois individual income tax payments for the tax year exceeded your actual tax liability by $10 or more. 2. You received an individual income tax rebate or a property tax rebate. If you receive multiple refunds, rebates, or overpayments for one tax year, these will be reported on one Form 1099-G for the tax year you received the refund or overpayment.   Virginia Virginia issued a one time tax rebate of $200 or $400 (Married Filing Jointly) If you took the standard deduction, you won't need to take any action on your federal return related to the rebate. >   I don't think this rebate has anything to do with the difference in my allowed SALT deduction.

 Sometimes the state data file gets "stuck" with a corrupted calculation path.   Go to State Taxes and look for the option to Delete your state return entirely. Important: Before you do this, make sure your Federal return is 100% complete, as the state return pulls its data from the Federal AMT (Form 6251). Once deleted, restart the state interview from scratch. This forces the software to pull fresh data from your Federal 6251, which often bypasses the need for the specific "Help" pop-up that’s causing the crash.  

In your daughter's federal return scroll down in the wages and income section to "1099-MISC and Other Common Income" and click start next to "1099-NEC".     Say yes and then select "Self-employment income" as the type of income.  Then enter the information from the 1099-NEC.   On the next page it will ask if any of the income on the 1099 is tip income and you will enter the full amount from the 1099-NEC.   That will enter and remove the income from her tax return and you'll be all good.  The tip amount will be reported an 1040 schedule 1-A.

TurboTax does not take me to the General Rule when I checked the non-qualified plan box.    There must be a mistake in the programming of TurboTax with 1099-R's that are from non-qualified plan.    How can we get the programmers at TurboTax to correct this before April 15?

I agree with Diane's answer - mostly.   The only potential additional thing to consider is if the Recovery Period or Method for Farm use is different than non-farm use (Farms have special rules).  I suspect that isn't going to be the case though.

I believe what happened is you overcontributed to your IRA for 2021 and withdrew the extra funds in 2022. If so, you would have received a Form 1009-R for 2022 that reported the distribution. However, only the earnings which would have been reported in box 2 on the 1099-R form would be taxable. The code "P" in box 7 on the form would tell the IRS that the distribution belongs on your 2021 return and the taxable amount would be the earnings. As such, the distribution would not affect your 2022 return, so it does not need to be amended.   On your 2021 return, I assume you reported the correct IRA contribution so you wouldn't need to amend it for that, but you may have not reported the earnings, which are probably minimal. So, you could amend your 2021 return and pay the tax on the earnings if you did not do that originally. But since the tax is likely minimal, it may not be worth the trouble.    As far as the state is concerned, they should only be taxing the earnings on the distribution and they should apply that to 2021. Again, the income is likely minimal, so the tax should be as well. You should respond to the state notice and explain what happened and ask them for guidance on what they need to correct the tax they have assessed you.

Which version of TurboTax are you using?   Particularly if using Online, try these basic troubleshooting steps:   Check your internet connection. Hardwired connections work best. Try exiting TurboTax, restarting your device and starting TurboTax again. Try using a different browser. Chrome usually works well. Try clearing your cache and cookies If you are using Desktop, are you entering the information in the Underpayment Penalty interview? The interview should be completed rather than entering information directly in the form or worksheet.   Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax, is only filled out by the taxpayer in certain situations: A You request a waiver (see instructions) of your entire penalty. You must check this box and file page 1 of Form 2210, but you aren’t required to figure your penalty.  B You request a waiver (see instructions) of part of your penalty. You must figure your penalty and waiver amount and file Form 2210.  C Your income varied during the year and your penalty is reduced or eliminated when figured using the annualized income installment method. You must figure the penalty using Schedule Al and file Form 2210.  D Your penalty is lower when figured by treating the federal income tax withheld from your income as paid on the dates it was actually withheld, instead of in equal amounts on the payment due dates. You must figure your penalty and file Form 2210.  E You filed or are filing a joint return for either 2024 or 2025, but not for both years, and line 8 above is smaller than line 5 above. You must file page 1 of Form 2210, but you aren’t required to figure your penalty (unless box B, C, or D applies).   See this TurboTax tips article for more information about Form 2210.    

There are some details shown below for the Session Method for reporting gambling activity. It's important to to keep in mind, based on your question, a loss is not going to be allowed for any gambling winnings. The most that can be accomplished, if you can itemize your deductions, is to use a gambling expense to the extent of winnings. This has been indicated in the earlier posts.    The difference with using the Session Method is noted below.   Definition of a Session: A, continuous, and uninterrupted period of play at a single gaming location (e.g., a single casino trip, or a single day of playing the same slot machine). Reporting: Instead of listing every winning spin or hand, a gambler calculates the total gain or loss for that session, and only that net amount is reported. Documentation Required: It is essential to maintain a, detailed diary or log, including date, time, location, machine number, type of game, and net win/loss. Key Advantage: It helps reduce the overall Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), which can decrease the, tax impact on Social Security benefits and prevent higher tax brackets. What it is not: A "session" generally does not span multiple days or multiple casinos, and each type of game (e.g., slot machines vs. poker) can be considered a separate session. Best practices: Maintain a Daily Log: Document every session. Calculate Net Gains: Only list the final result of each session. Use Tax Software: Enter the net winnings, not individual W-2Gs, in TurboTax. Tax Tips Blog for Gamblers IRS Topic 419: Gambling Income and Losses @Kirrena1987 

Balance due errors can be due to an error with payments, outdated software, or missing payment entries. To troubleshoot this:   Update your software Go back through your withholding payments in your income forms like W2s and 1099s If you have an Underpayment Penalty (Form 2210), go back through your entries  Go back through your Estimated Payments Make sure that the billing address for any credit card payments matches the address on your return to avoid payment processing errors If these do not resolve your issues, please let us know more details and we can find other solutions.     @heychandu