All Posts

We cannot see your screen or your account and have no way to know what version of the software you are using.   Why would you expect your employer to pay for you to use TurboTax to prepare your tax return?     How can I see my TurboTax  fees?  https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/intuit-account-billing/review-fees-turbotax-online/L1XnIzgzg_US_en_US?uid=m682vq7k   If your TurboTax fees are higher than expected, you can reduce them by removing add-ons     (BEFORE you e-file) :   Remove Premium Services Remove MAX Defend & Restore Remove a state Remove PLUS Help & Support Remove Pay With Your Refund     Or—-Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site   https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/  

Did you click that big orange button that said “Transmit my return now?”  If you did that, you cannot do anything to fix it yet.  You have to wait for the email that tells you if your return was accepted or rejected.   Since the IRS will not begin to accept/reject returns until January 26, you are going to be waiting in “pending” for awhile.  Your return is sitting on a server, where you cannot fix  it or get it back.   You cannot change or add anything on the return that you just e-filed, nor can you stop it.  It is too late, just like when you put an envelope in a US mailbox on the corner.  The IRS does not allow you to take it back.   If you left out a W-2, a 1099G, or a dependent, or a 1099 etc…DO NOT change your return while it is “pending.”  The changes will go nowhere.   Now you have to wait until the IRS either rejects or accepts your return.  If your return is rejected, you will be able to go into your account and make the necessary changes to your tax return and re-submit your return.     If the IRS accepts your return, however, then you have to wait longer until it has been fully processed and you have received your refund.  THEN you can prepare an amended tax return and e-file or mail  it in. You have to be able to work from that return exactly the way it was when it was e-filed originally.  You will need to use a form called a 1040X.     Meanwhile, DO NOT go in and start changing anything on your return in the system, or you will make a mess for yourself.  Sit tight and wait until you see what the IRS does with the return you just e-filed   The Form 1040X you need becomes available in late February,  But wait until your return has been processed.

When you enter your date of birth in MY INFO, if you were 65 or older at the end of 2025 you will get that senior deduction automatically.  You do not have to enter anything about it.     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 $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  

MEDICAL EXPENSES The medical expense deduction has to meet a rather large threshold before it can affect your return. The amount of medical (including dental, vision, etc.)  expenses that will count toward itemization is the amount that is OVER 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You should only enter the amount that you paid in 2025—do not include any amounts that were covered by insurance or that are still outstanding.  Of course, your medical expenses plus your other itemized deductions still have to exceed your standard deduction before you will see a difference in your tax due or refund.   To enter your medical expenses go to Federal>Deductions and Credits>Medical>Medical Expenses       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)

Look at your Social Security card----does it say on the card that it is not valid for employment?   You need to click your name in MY INFO and go back through the questions to the one about your SS card and answer the question correctly.   But....if you have been "unpaid" all year....what income are you trying to enter on a 2025 tax return?

"Occupation" is only used for statistical purposes.   It has no effect on your tax due or refund.  Try using "homemaker" if she did not work outside the home.     You can still file a joint tax return even if one spouse had little or no income.

Are you the custodial parent?  Do you have an agreement with the other parent to allow the other parent to claim them--due to divorce or that you live apart and share custody?  Did one of you sign a Form 8332?   If there is a signed 8332 then the custodial parent retains the right to file as Head of Household, get earned income credit and the childcare credit.  The non-custodial parent gets the child tax credit for children under the age of 17.  If the child is 17 or older the non-custodial parent gets the $500 credit for other dependents.   If you and the other parent have a signed agreement, you need to indicate in MY INFO that you have such an agreement.   As far as the IRS is concerned, the custodial parent is the one with whom the child spent the most nights during the tax year--at least 183 nights.

Form 8332 is not used by unmarried parents who live together.   It is used by divorced or unmarried parents who share custody of the child and live apart.   If you are a non-married couple who live together with your child, then only one of you can claim the child(ren) and the one not claiming the child does not enter anything at all on their tax return about the child.   The “sharing” of child-related credits you may have heard about is only possible between divorced or never married parents who live apart and share custody and who have a written agreement to share the credits.    The child’s SSN can only be entered on one tax return.   Any other return with the child’s SSN on it will be rejected.   If you are a family, then work out how to share the refund between yourselves.

If you are a non-married couple who live together with your child, then only one of you can claim the child(ren) and the one not claiming the child does not enter anything at all on their tax return about the child.   The “sharing” of child-related credits you may have heard about is only possible between divorced or never married parents who live apart and share custody and who have a written agreement to share the credits.    The child’s SSN can only be entered on one tax return.   Any other return with the child’s SSN on it will be rejected.   If you are a family, then work out how to share the refund between yourselves.

If Social Security was your only income you do not have to file a tax return unless you have a 1095A for marketplace health insurance.     Who has to file? http://www.irs.gov/uac/Do-I-Need-to-File-a-Tax-Return%3F