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Thank you for looking at it. Maybe I am just confused by the AOTC. The last 3 years we have received a refund of $2500 having the one child in college. I thought having 3 would give us a $7500 refund since they meet all the eligibility and financial factors   The child I added last was the one on the top (you probably know this just want to confirm since you can't see the names). When I take her off it is now reducing the refund by $1000 (whereas before it was $1526). By taking her off it also raises the refund for my other two (daughter #1 from $2083 to 2470 and daughter #2 from $2109 to $2500. For daughter #1 we paid a little less than $4000 for tuition, so I expected hers to be a little less than $2500.  why would adding a third child reduce the refund for the other 2?   So, I guess my question at this point is what are all the variables causing the fluctuations in refund amount? If we make less than the cap, why can't we receive the full $2500 per child? I guess I also don't quite grasp the concept of the refundable and nonrefundable part of the credit either. Thank you!   I really appreciate you taking the time to help me on this matter.         

If you were legally married at the end of 2025 your filing choices are married filing jointly or married filing separately when you prepare your 2025 return.   Married Filing Jointly is usually better, even if one spouse had little or no income. When you file a joint return, you and your spouse will get the married filing jointly standard deduction of $31,500 (+ $1600 for each spouse 65 or older)  for 2025. You are eligible for more credits including education credits, earned income credit, child and dependent care credit, and a larger income limit to receive the child tax credit.    If you choose to file married filing separately, both spouses have to file the same way—either you both itemize or you both use standard deduction. Your tax rate will be higher than on a joint return.    Some of the disadvantages of filing separately include:    You cannot get earned income credit,  You cannot get education credits or deductions for student loan interest.  You cannot get the childcare credit You have a lower amount of income on which to base the refundable additional child tax credit 85% of your Social Security benefits will be taxable even with no other income  The amount you can contribute to a retirement account will be limited. Capital loss deduction is less than if you file jointly You cannot get the $6000 senior deduction You cannot get the deductions for overtime or tips    If you live in a community property state, you will be required to provide additional information regarding your spouse’s income. ( Community property states:  AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI) and your returns become very complicated.    If  you are using online TurboTax to prepare your returns, you will need to prepare two separate returns and pay twice since with online, you get one return per fee.     https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/should-you-and-your-spouse-file-taxes-jointly-or-separately/L7gyjnqyM?srsltid=AfmBOopGqCNexowW0pYgvsf7ycIkrx4VjO_63UXv6vSnfu3UEGQiKQTh   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/income/getting-married-mean-taxes/L2RgmagpE_US_en_US?uid=m69on7t0     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/taxation/married-filing-separately-community-property/L11CeLUMs_US_en_US?uid=m69ousyh    

In TurboTax Online, follow these steps to report IRS form 1099-R:    Down the left side of the screen, click on Federal. Down the left side of the screen, click on Wages & income. Scroll down to Retirement Plans Social Security.  Click the down arrow to the right. Click Start / Revisit to the right of IRA 401K Pension Plan Withdrawals. At the screen Did you get a 1099-R in 2025?, select Yes. At the screen Choose all the situations that apply to you, make selection and Continue. You will be given options:       to connect with your financial accounts,       to upload your form, or       type it in myself.  See also this TurboTax Help.  

We cannot connect you to customer support from this forum.   Phone support is not provided with the Free Edition.  If you are using a paid version of the software or if you purchased PLUS you can get phone support when customer support is there.  Otherwise, post your question here and someone will try to help.   To call TurboTax customer support https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/contact-turbotax/L2y9ZKpQB_US_en_US?uid=m5s9l2vh           You have to access your own account and/or  print it for yourself using exactly the same account and user ID that you used when you prepared the return.    https://myturbotax.intuit.com/   Start a 2025 return online and enter some personal information  so that the menu on the left opens up and lets you access your past year returns.   https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/prior-year-return/help/how-do-i-access-my-prior-year-return/01/27010     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/save-2021-turbotax-online-return-pdf/L8dHfRkpT_US_en_US?uid=m5y4ch1y   Many people have multiple TT accounts and forget how to access them.  Log out of the account you are in now.     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/many-intuit-accounts-turbotax/L9aVfKS1Z_US_en_US?uid=ll5g6zcx Account Recovery   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/many-intuit-accounts-turbotax/L9aVfKS1Z_US_en_US?uid=ll5g6zcx   Or did you use the desktop version of TurboTax?  If so, the files are on your own hard drive or any backup device you used like a flash drive.     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-return/find-last-year-tax-data-file-tax-file-computer/L0XJvPaJr_US_en_US   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/data-systems/find-tax-data-file-mac/L4VNGm33S_US_en_US?uid=m6guhab0   You can get a free transcript from the IRS or for a fee of $30, an actual copy of your tax return. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf       SAVE YOUR TAX RETURNS ! EVERY year before mid-October you should save a copy of your tax return as a pdf and print a copy of it for your records.  That way you will not be searching online frantically when you need it for a lender, FAFSA forms, your next tax return, etc.    https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/save-2021-turbotax-online-return-pdf/L8dHfRkpT_US_en_US?uid=m6guj526   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/save-2021-turbotax-online-return-pdf/L8dHfRkpT_US_en_US?uid=m78eb8pc In order to transfer a past year return to the new return you need the tax file   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/save-turbotax-online-return-tax-data-file/L4xwOG3LF_US_en_US?uid=m6guk3xl   NOTE:  TurboTax and the IRS save returns for seven years.  Returns older than seven years are purged.

I'm assuming you normally file your LLC tax return on Form 1065, unfortunately there is no option for you to report the partnership income and expenses on your personal tax return; every partnership with any items of income or expense must file a 1065.   If compliance burden is becoming too much for what the business brings in for profit, maybe you could check the box 'final' at the top of Form 1065 to inform the IRS that you will not be sending in any more returns and the partnership will be ceasing operations; just an idea to consider, not advice.    If you withdrew your 401(k) before reaching the age of 59 1/2, it may trigger the filing of Form 5329 to report distributions subject to the 10% additional tax, but that depends on the details of your Form 1099-R; in any case, as long as you enter the information into TurboTax, the program will take care of the necessary forms and schedules for you. 

Thanks, but I am not comfortable sending my data file.  I provided the screenshot, which clearly shows that something is wrong. Unfortunately TurboTax provides absolutely no indication of what causes these error messages.  I have done the donations both thru the interview method and reviewing/editing the actual form.  Neither method gets rid of these 3 red errors.  And it is consistent; the three charities to which I have donated both public stock and cash result in the same errors.  And yes, it is annoying that the valuation method for the stock mysteriously changes from Average Sales Price to Comparative Sales every time I try to update the entries.  

Talk to your broker. He can guide you.   If you have other IRAs, you can just convert them to a Roth IRA. If the IRA has no basis (i.e. a deduction was taken at the time of contribution, then the conversion is taxable,

MFJ on a 2025 tax return requires worldwide income for the full year. On the bright side, you can claim the foreign tax credit for tax paid to a foreign country on the same income. Use Form 1116 and claim the credit. See Where do I enter the foreign tax credit (Form 1116) or deduction?

Did you e-file your tax return and was it accepted? Only the IRS and your State control when and if a Federal or State tax refund is Approved and Issued.   You complete your tax return by finishing all 3 Steps in the File section. In Step 3, to e-file your tax return, you must click on the large button labeled "Transmit my returns now".   After completing the File section and e-filing your tax return you will receive two emails from TurboTax. The first email when your tax return was transmitted and the second email when the tax return has either been accepted or rejected.   Note - Once a tax return has been Accepted by the IRS or a State, TurboTax receives no further information concerning the tax return or the status of any tax refund.  Only the taxpayer listed on the tax return can obtain the status of a tax refund or a tax return.   To check the status of an e-filed return, open up your desktop product or log into your TurboTax Online Account. You can find your status within the TurboTax product. What is the status of your e-filed tax return? If accepted by the IRS use the federal tax refund website to check the refund status - https://www.irs.gov/refunds If accepted by the state use this TurboTax support FAQ to check the state tax refund status - https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/track-state-refund/L3jgO8PGs_... What is the status of your tax refund?   After the tax return has been Accepted by the IRS (meaning only that they received the return) it will be in the Processing mode until the tax refund has been Approved and then an Issue Date will be available on the IRS website.