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I downloaded the .tax file, installed the Desktop version (Mac), spent $130 on a license, and there was no way to import or open the .tax file.  I search online help and could not find out how to open the file

Check your safe harbor calc - see Form 2210 line 1-9, to avoid penalty you need to have paid during the year via withholding or "timely" estimated taxes, the smaller of 100% of your 2024 tax (110% if AGI > 150k of 75 if filing MFS), or 90% of your 2025 tax.   Withholding is always considered timely regardless of when it happens, but given you did a large Roth last year also it sounds like W2 withholding alone will not meet the safe harbor.   For a large Q4 Roth conversion, you would likely need to make a Q4 estimated tax payment in January to meet the safe harbor amount (which may not be the full 24% tax due on the conversion - the rest is due by next April), and then when you file your return will need to adopt the Annualized Income method on Form 2210.  Without that method by default, IRS (and TT penalty calc) will assume this distribution happened evenly thru the year and you were therefore underpaid in Q1-3 etc which is why you got the large penalty.  For the AI method you will need to calculate your AGI, withholding, Qualified Divs, LTCG etc by quarter (not even quarters tho  - 3/31, 5/31, 8/31, 12/31) and that will show the uneven income in those buckets and that the estimated tax in Q4 was not late.  It may not entirely eliminate the penalty if other things didn't quite line up but should significantly reduce it.  When you do your 2025 filing you would trigger this process under Other Tax Situations / Underpayment Penalty section and check the outcome on your 1040 Line 38.  But beware these quarterly calculations you need to do yourself and input into Turbo.  You would need to do a similar process for your state taxes also if applicable.   There is an alternative approach where you can do withholding on the Roth conversion which will reduce the amount deposited into your Roth (e.g. 80k comes out of your Trad IRA, 20k withheld, 60k goes into the Roth), which is taking money from your retirement accounts - but you can then send in that amount directly within 60 days to make it up.  I've not tried that method and don't know what's involved with your brokerage to process that deposit into the Roth correctly and not be coded as a contribution - perhaps @VolvoGirl can elaborate if questions on this approach.   Going forward if you're continuing to do these conversions annually, the easiest way is to figure your safe harbor in Q1 when you file for prior year, based on known prior year tax along with estimate of your withholding, and pay even quarterly ES payments thru the year to meet that.  You can then just do your Roth conversion whenever during the year or even in pieces, it doesn't matter.  When you do your 2025 filing, the ES vouchers for 2026 generated by TurboTax will do this calculation by default, using 100/110% of your 2025 tax as the safe harbor and assuming your 2026 withholding is the same as 2025, and the difference between the two is your estimated tax and divide by 4 for the quarterly amount.  You can update these assumptions under Other Tax Situations / Form W4 and Estimated Tax section and see if you can optimize the ES payments further.   Finally try to avoid sending checks and using 1040-ES vouchers, pay ES directly electronically at irs.gov (I do the same with final tax due - tell Turbo you're sending a check rather than give direct debit details, and then pay directly at irs.gov when you want, it's easier to control timing especially for large amounts due - IRS will hit your account by next business day).   Check into the details of the safe harbor, penalty calls and AI method on Form 2210 for more details.

the 1099-R should already specify that with distribution code G or some equivalent code (the back of the 1099-R explains the codes), taxable amount 0 and "total distribution" checked in 2b instead of "taxable amount not determined" - if that's the case when you input it there will be some questions about whether it was rolled over to Roth etc.  check that the tax is not impacted and you should see on your 1040 line 5a has the amount of the rollover, 5b will say ROLLOVER and $0 tax.

I was wondering about something similar while going through my daughter’s education expenses. She had to pay for things like a CNA class, CPR training, and a stethoscope before getting into her nursing program, and it’s a bit confusing how the IRS treats those since they’re technically prerequisites. I found it helpful to read about how certain qualified expenses are handled, especially before being officially enrolled in a degree program. Also, if anyone’s ever needed clear legal guidance on student or tax-related documentation in Canada, Legalbird has some helpful info and resources for understanding the legal side of things.

@ smvethacke  asked:  "How do I enter the amount I paid with my extension on the 1040 before I file?"   You didn't say if you are using desktop software or Online TurboTax.   I'll give the steps for both.  If you filed the extension through TurboTax and using Online TurboTax, it "may" already be populated, but you need to check and enter it if needed, or correct it if needed.   NOTE:  After entering the payment, if this is a Federal extension payment,  before filing verify that the payment shows up on Schedule 3, Line 10.   It should also be included in the figure showing on your Federal Form 1040, Line 31.  If you have a state or local extension payment, verify the respective state/local payment shows up on that respective return, too.   Desktop software: Federal tab (except it's called Personal tab in desktop Home and Business). Subtab:  Deductions & credits On the Deductions categories page scroll way down to topic Estimates and Other Taxes Paid. Choose subtopic Income Taxes Paid. On the next screen, titled "Income Taxes Paid," you should see a category of  "Payments with Extension."  Choose the type of extension payment and click Start or Revisit. Enter (or confirm) the figure for your extension payment.   For Online TurboTax:   In the left menu column, click the Federal tab Then click the subtab Deductions & Credits. On the "Tax Breaks" screen scroll way down until you see the category "Estimates and Other Taxes Paid."  (if you don't see it, you may have to first click on "Other Tax Breaks" (or similar wording) to show more tax breaks.) Click that to expand, and in the list of subtopics choose "Income Taxes Paid."  (click Start or Revisit). On the next screen, titled "Income Taxes Paid," you should see a category of  "Payments with Extension."  Choose the type of extension payment and click Start or Revisit. Enter (or confirm) the figure for your extension payment. Before filing, verify it shows up on your Schedule 3, Line 10 and the Form 1040, Line 31.  Also if you entered a state extension be sure it shows up on the state return.

This answer assumes your past return was prepared in Online TurboTax.   Any return prepared in desktop TurboTax will not be in an Online account.  Here's how one would normally find past-year online returns and how to troubleshoot for multiple accounts (User IDs) if necessary.  Many people end up with more than 1 account.  The pathway to download the PDF or tax data file depends on whether or not you have started an online 2024 return.  I provide both scenarios below, so choose which one is appropriate for your situation.   If you have not yet started a 2024 online return: Sign in to your account.   What you see next depends on whether or not you have already started a 2024 return in that account.   If your left column menu is minimal, and does not have a Tax Home tab displayed, that would imply you have not started preparing a 2024 return in that account.  If you haven't yet started a return, it will start asking you some questions.  Answer those preliminary questions on a few screens (you don't actually have to prepare a return), and then when you are far enough into the process, the left menu column will change, and you'll then see a Tax Home option in the left menu column.  Do not click the Documents tab.  Instead, click on Tax Home.  Then on the Tax Home screen, scroll way down to the bottom to "Your Tax Returns & Documents".  Expand that section and choose the past year you want.   If your past returns are not shown there, then you likely have multiple accounts and signed into the wrong one.  I'll tell you below how to troubleshoot.   If you have already started or finished a 2024 online return: Log in, and if you've already started a 2024 return in that account, then it may already open at the Tax Home.  If not, click the Tax Home tab in the left column menu.  Do not use the Documents tab.  At the Tax Home scroll down and expand "Your Tax Returns & Documents."   If the past returns are not there, see the steps below.   If you do all that and can't find the past return, here's how to look for multiple accounts: You can have up to 5 accounts that use the same email address for notification purposes.  A User ID may be an email address, but it doesn't have to be.  It might be only part of an email address, or it can be anything at all.   To get a list of your User IDs, reset password, and recover account access, etc., you can use the tool at the link below.  When using the Account Recovery tool, try using your phone number first if you can still access it.   After that, if necessary, then run the tool on your email address(es) you can access. NOTE: Before running the account recovery tool below, log out of all Intuit accounts including this user forum, or you might end up in a loop.  Then clear your browser Internet cache, close your browser, then reopen it, and go to the link below.  You may wish to copy this link so you can paste it into the new browser session. https://myturbotax.intuit.com/account-recovery If still no luck after running that on your phone number you can still access and email address(es) that you can access,  here's another method:          Go back to the tool again, but this time leave the data field blank, scroll down a bit, then choose the small blue link that says "Try something else", and it will look you up by other parameters.