All Posts

"What does the US consider to be a bona fide resident, the immigration status resident or tax resident?" Tax residency, basically, once you move to the country and take the steps to establish a permanent home and truly live there, that is when your Bona Fide clock starts counting.  Your immigration status does not change the days for you to start counting.   However, you must be in the country for an entire tax year, not just a year.  This means since you did not move there until October of 2025, you would not qualify as a Bona Fide Resident for 2025 even if you did choose to file an extension.     To qualify for bona fide residence, you must reside in a foreign country for an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year. An entire tax year is from January 1 through December 31 for taxpayers who file their income tax returns on a calendar year basis. During the period of bona fide residence in a foreign country, you can leave the country for brief or temporary trips back to the United States or elsewhere for vacation or business.     Instead of the Bona Fide Residence test, you could potentially qualify for the Physical Presence Test which requires you to be in the foreign country for 330 FULL days during a full 12 month period.  So under this test, if you moved to New Zealand on October 1, 2025 and remained there for 330 days, you would be considered to have met the Physical Presence Test by the October 15th, 2026 extension deadline which would then allow you to claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion if you filed an extension using form 2350.    Remember, even if you do qualify for the Physical Presence Test, you only get to exclude the income earned during the qualifying period on your 2025 return.       

Pennsylvania may ask for Unemployment Expenses on the state tax form even if you didn't report or receive unemployment on your federal return. Some states have specific reporting requirements or questions related to unemployment compensation, regardless of whether benefits were received or taxable federally. Since you have been retired since 2013 and have no unemployment income, it's very likely you can enter zero or leave this section blank if TurboTax allows. This question may appear due to Pennsylvania's tax form design and doesn't necessarily mean you must report unemployment benefits. Check carefully for any related entries in TurboTax for Pennsylvania and help make sure no unemployment income is entered. You may be asked to make sure this data to complete your state return.

To remove a duplicate copy of TurboTax from your Mac,  Quit the application completely, then  Open your Applications folder in Finder.  Locate the duplicate TurboTax icon, right-click it Select Move to Trash.  Your tax return data files are stored in your Documents folder and won't be deleted by removing the application.  Empty the Trash and restart your computer to clear any lingering references

The Illinois Property Tax Credit is a credit on your individual income tax return (Form IL-1040) equal to 5 percent of Illinois Property Tax (real estate tax) you paid on your principal residence.   Please refer to Illinois Department of Revenue Illinois Property Tax Credit Publication 108 here.

If you have entered an asset for depreciation and TurboTax is automatically selecting something other than what has been used in the past, try using the instructions below to make the selections:   Start from the Schedule C or Schedule E section of your return until you get to the Assets/Depreciation section. Proceed to the point where you are adding an asset on the page titled Describe This Asset. In order to enter the asset exactly as it has been reported in the past, choose the last option on the list, Intangibles, Other Property, then click Continue. On the next page titled, Tell Us a Little More, select Other asset type, then click Continue. Enter the detailed information about the asset:  description, cost, date purchased or acquired.  Click Continue. Move forward with additional details on the next screen, then click Continue. Select the appropriate Asset Class, then click Continue. Choose the MACRS Convention, then click Continue. Select the Depreciation Method, then click  Continue. Answer the question regarding Listed Property, then click Continue.  There may be some additional background questions as well, keep going. You will eventually come to a screen to confirm the Prior Depreciation, enter the data and click Continue. Finally, you will see an Asset Summary screen with the current year depreciation amount listed.  There is also a check-box here to Show Details.  This will open a full description for the asset so you can verify that it matches the previously reported information.  If it does not, you can choose to go Back and re-enter the data that needs to be changed.

No, I still have the same problem. Again, after calling TurboTax, I was told the only thing I can do is to start a whole new tax return. I will do this at the last resort because I've already entered a lot of data. So I'm still trying to find a solution before having to do this.  Thank you

In TurboTax Online, in the Pennsylvania state income tax return, income not reported on the Federal income tax return but reported on the Pennsylvania income tax return may be reported at the screen Any other miscellaneous compensation.   @donlenze 

I had the same issue and I could not clear that error without entering something in the box for the St of IL tax payer #, even with a blank for St Tax Withheld.   Many states will allow the federal TIN if the payer does not have a state businesss tax account or number with them.  So if there is no St payer ID on the 1099, then use the Federal TIN.     I wish QBO actually had knowledgeable people answering questions such as these.  Seems like a no-brainer. 

TurboTax uses a master Foreign Tax Credit Worksheet to feed the 1116.   Open the Foreign Tax Credit Wks (look for the one named for your specific country or "Various"). Scroll down to Part II: Foreign Taxes Paid or Accrued. Ensure the Date Paid/Accrued is entered. TurboTax often refuses to calculate Line 9 if the date is missing, even if the dollar amount is there. Also make sure the checkmark is checked indicating the taxes were paid. Verify that the Type of Income selected on this worksheet matches the category you checked on the top of Form 1116. @TaxHacks

Sounds like something got stuck. You can try these things:   Log Out Completely: Before doing anything else, click Sign Out in the TurboTax menu. Clear Cache and Cookies: This removes old, "corrupted" data that might be confusing the website. Use an Incognito (Private) Window: This is the most effective "quick fix" because it launches the browser without any saved history or extensions (like AdBlockers) that often interfere with tax forms. Check Pop-up Blockers: TurboTax often opens forms (like the 1099 PDF) or payment windows in a separate pop-up. Look at the right side of your address bar for a small icon with a "red X"—click it and select "Always allow pop-ups from Intuit." Restart the Browser: Close all open windows of your browser entirely and then reopen it.   Most TurboTax errors happen because the browser is trying to use an old "session" from a previous visit. By clearing the cache or using Incognito mode, you force the browser to establish a brand-new, secure connection with the Intuit servers.

I paid for the software version and you charged me.  I needed a form that’s missing.  Your bot sent me to Isaac Rodriguez who is offshore and has no idea. What he’s doing.   this was a very bad experience and even now you want to sent me a text.  Your customer service sucks!

In TurboTax Online, within the Missouri part-year income tax return, at the screen Missouri Part Year/Nonresident Status, select Nonresident of Missouri.  Then fill out the information about your home state.   For your spouse, at the screen Missouri Part Year/Nonresident Status, select Part-Year Missouri Resident.  Then fill out the information about the second state.   If necessary, income allocations may be made at the screen Income Allocations.