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March 12, 2026
11:10 AM
1 Cheer
Yes, you can sometimes deduct a short‑film investment on your personal tax return, but only if the investment meets specific IRS rules. Most casual or informal film investments do NOT qualify for a p...
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Yes, you can sometimes deduct a short‑film investment on your personal tax return, but only if the investment meets specific IRS rules. Most casual or informal film investments do NOT qualify for a personal write‑off. The tax treatment depends on how you invested, what type of entity the film project used, and which section of the tax code applies.
When an investment can be written off.
You invested through a business or partnership (LLC, S‑Corp, or partnership)
If the film project was structured as a partnership or LLC, you may receive a Schedule K‑1. In that case:
Your investment is treated as a business investment, not a personal hobby.
Losses may be deductible on Schedule E (passive activity losses).
The deduction depends on:
Whether the project generated income
Whether you materially participated.
Passive‑loss limitations
The project qualifies under Section 181 of the IRS code. Section 181 allows investors to deduct qualifying film/TV production costs in the year of investment, instead of waiting for amortization. To qualify:
The film must be a U.S. production
Production costs must generally be under $15M (or $20M in certain areas)
The production company must elect Section 181
You must receive documentation showing your share of deductible costs
If the project elected Section 181, you may be able to deduct your investment on your return as a federal production deduction. This is typically reported through a K‑1 or a statement from the production company.
You generally cannot deduct the investment if:
You simply gave money to a friend’s film project without formal investment paperwork
You did not receive a K‑1 or other tax reporting documents
The project was not structured as a business entity
You were promised “profit participation” but not actual ownership
It was a donation, contribution, or informal agreement
March 12, 2026
11:09 AM
Is NYS Inflation Refund taxable when itemizing deductions? If it is, where does it have to be entered? Thank You.
March 12, 2026
11:09 AM
Yes a lot of people are missing the Foreign country question or answering it wrong. After you enter SS keep going. Starting in 2024 there is a new question asking if you lived in a foreign country...
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Yes a lot of people are missing the Foreign country question or answering it wrong. After you enter SS keep going. Starting in 2024 there is a new question asking if you lived in a foreign country. People were answering it wrong or skipping it. Go back through the Social Security entries and check, check for each spouse if married. If the IRS adjusted your return you do not need to amend.
March 12, 2026
11:09 AM
Thought I would let you know what happened. I am not sure who is at fault but I did have to spend some time on the phone with Colorado Dept of Revenue to figure this out. 1) e-filed federal a...
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Thought I would let you know what happened. I am not sure who is at fault but I did have to spend some time on the phone with Colorado Dept of Revenue to figure this out. 1) e-filed federal and Colorado with Turbotax online 2) I had annualized my Colorado estimated taxes. 3) I did not pay Federal estimated taxes because I knew the tax bill would be below $1000 4) Turbotax did file DR0204 which should have removed the underpayment penalty by showing the annualization amounts. 5) Colorado still assessed a penalty. After calling the state dept of revenue, they said the penalty was because they needed to see form 2210 in my federal tax return to confirm my annualization. I don't believe Turbotax filed a 2210 since I was below $1000 in tax owed or did not pay federal estimated taxes. I don't see form 2210 in my print out of my taxes. Anyways they assessed a penalty because even though they had Form 0204, they did not have a federal 2210. After telling them what happened, the representative removed the penalty but could not guarantee that it would not undergo another review and I might have to supply a 2210 at that point.
Topics:
March 12, 2026
11:09 AM
You may not be able to save tax files due to permission errors, read-only folders, or security software blocking access. To fix this, try saving to your desktop, running the application as an adminis...
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You may not be able to save tax files due to permission errors, read-only folders, or security software blocking access. To fix this, try saving to your desktop, running the application as an administrator, ensuring you have the latest updates, or disabling Controlled Folder Access in Windows.
Use "Save As": Select File > Save As and choose your Desktop as the location to bypass folder permission issues.
Run as Administrator: Right-click the TurboTax icon and select "Run as Administrator".
Check Windows Defender: Go to Windows Security > Virus & Threat Protection > Manage Settings > Controlled Folder Access and turn it off, or allow TurboTax through the firewall.
Check File Properties: Right-click the folder where you are saving, select Properties, and uncheck "Read-only".
Update Software: Run all available updates under the Online link at the top.
@user17732582275
March 12, 2026
11:08 AM
Yes, if the discrepancy is because of unreported tip income or allocated tips; Turbotax does generate a Form 4137.
March 12, 2026
11:07 AM
If you are using the desktop version of TurboTax, you can do this by using the What-If worksheet. This can be found in forms mode. After going to forms mode, select Open Forms>>Type in What If>>cli...
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If you are using the desktop version of TurboTax, you can do this by using the What-If worksheet. This can be found in forms mode. After going to forms mode, select Open Forms>>Type in What If>>click on the worksheet and then enter your information.
March 12, 2026
11:06 AM
They are not going to remove all the prior year answers that are not current now. That would be almost all the posts in the forum. That post above is 2 years old from 2024. It's hard enough keepi...
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They are not going to remove all the prior year answers that are not current now. That would be almost all the posts in the forum. That post above is 2 years old from 2024. It's hard enough keeping the FAQs updated and some of them are still out of date or wrong.
March 12, 2026
11:06 AM
1 Cheer
If NUA shares are rolled over to another qualified retirement account such as an IRA, they no longer qualify as NUA shares. To qualify as NUA shares, they must be deposited into a nonqualified accou...
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If NUA shares are rolled over to another qualified retirement account such as an IRA, they no longer qualify as NUA shares. To qualify as NUA shares, they must be deposited into a nonqualified account such as a taxable brokerage account. A deposit into a nonqualified account (a taxable brokerage account) is not a rollover. If your Form 1099-R includes both NUA shares that were not rolled over and other funds that were rolled over, you must split the form into two to accommodate TurboTax, one for the NUA shares and another for the portion that was rolled over.
March 12, 2026
11:06 AM
When I filed my 2025 tax return on line this year, the amount that I entered for social security in 6A was not brought over to 6B. Has anyone else experience the same problem? The system should have ...
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When I filed my 2025 tax return on line this year, the amount that I entered for social security in 6A was not brought over to 6B. Has anyone else experience the same problem? The system should have brought it over automatically but it didn't
March 12, 2026
11:05 AM
Use settings or control panel to uninstall Business. Then sign in to TurboTax an reinstall it in a different folder. There is no charge for extra copies. In the future don't buy and download both a...
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Use settings or control panel to uninstall Business. Then sign in to TurboTax an reinstall it in a different folder. There is no charge for extra copies. In the future don't buy and download both at the same time.
March 12, 2026
11:05 AM
I am having the same issue, but the screens you show in your example are not the screens I see in my screen. Is the online free version different than what you show here?
March 12, 2026
11:03 AM
Try closing TurboTax, clearing your cache and deleting your cookies. Review the TurboTax Help article How to clear your cache and How do I delete cookies? for specific instructions for your browser. ...
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Try closing TurboTax, clearing your cache and deleting your cookies. Review the TurboTax Help article How to clear your cache and How do I delete cookies? for specific instructions for your browser. Also, reboot your computer.
March 12, 2026
11:02 AM
Anyone? I'm asking because IF TurboTax is using last year's estimates, they are all wrong. I have only a VERY Small job with a W-2, and ONLY had Social Security for one month. So using old numbers t...
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Anyone? I'm asking because IF TurboTax is using last year's estimates, they are all wrong. I have only a VERY Small job with a W-2, and ONLY had Social Security for one month. So using old numbers to estimate (either using the old W-2, or using only one month of SSA) will be very, very wrong!
March 12, 2026
11:02 AM
I suggest checking the date on the fourth quarter estimated payment to make sure it is a 2025 date if that is when you paid it. The default date for Q4 payments is January 2026, but if you change the...
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I suggest checking the date on the fourth quarter estimated payment to make sure it is a 2025 date if that is when you paid it. The default date for Q4 payments is January 2026, but if you change the date to 2025, the state estimated tax payment should carry to Schedule A (Itemized Deductions).
If you are in TurboTax Desktop, you can go into Forms Mode and check the Tax Payments Worksheet.
I tested using a December 2025 payment date for the fourth quarter estimated state tax payment in TurboTax Online and TurboTax Desktop, and in both cases the fourth quarter payment amount was included on Schedule A.
If you are still having issues after taking theses steps, let us know.
March 12, 2026
11:01 AM
When I go to the menu options to apply my 2025 tax refund to my 2026 taxes, I get a window that says: Hmm, looks like we've hit a snag We recommend you revisit the last topic you were working...
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When I go to the menu options to apply my 2025 tax refund to my 2026 taxes, I get a window that says: Hmm, looks like we've hit a snag We recommend you revisit the last topic you were working on to make sure all your info's correct. I am not sure how to proceed. It would be more helpful to get some more detailed information. Thanks!
March 12, 2026
11:01 AM
If you used TurboTax Online last year, the program may be filling in either your AGI or PIN from last year for you. This is asked for in the FILE section, just before filing, for Identity Verificati...
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If you used TurboTax Online last year, the program may be filling in either your AGI or PIN from last year for you. This is asked for in the FILE section, just before filing, for Identity Verification.
You may want to clear your Cache and Cookies and step through the FILE section again.
@user17732840614
March 12, 2026
11:00 AM
Filed today with Desktop version, no issues with using Easy Step Form 5695. Lines 17 worked with my Biomass Stove $2000 credit finally.
March 12, 2026
11:00 AM
might want to remove that answer then, its what shows up in all the search results and results in people wasting a whole lot of time for nothing.
March 12, 2026
10:59 AM
TurboTax can not import the PDF file format of your consolidated 1099 form. You have to wait until the CVS format is available. You can open and download the PDF format, but the CVS format may be del...
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TurboTax can not import the PDF file format of your consolidated 1099 form. You have to wait until the CVS format is available. You can open and download the PDF format, but the CVS format may be delayed.