All Posts

@MR0465   As you already filed the return, the IRS will be sending you a refund so now you owe them that money back.     If you did NOT already file your return, you do NOT choose amend.  You just fix the return and file.  Only once you filed your return would you have to file an amended return.   You can wait till the earlier of 4/15 or the refund date from the IRS to pay your balance due.   Make sure to wait till your return is processed by the IRS before sending the amended return in or it can cause confusion.  

I doubt they will.   90% of companies these days and the people that work for them are dishonest and incompetent.  This tax year with these simple (and yes they are simple) crypto changes have really highlighted this.   Thing is they don’t care about disappointing customers anymore.     27 years with TurboTax and and I am absolutely done. 

Following the 1040/1040SR Wks: Tax Exempt Interest was very confusing so I went to the IRS and google. I have added 1099INT box 8 to 1099DIV box 12 .  No K-1s, S corps, or Estate & trusts.  I have subtracted 1099INT box 11 and 1099INT box 13. I have added 1099OID box 11.  The total of the above is over $400 less than TT's 1040 line 2a and there is no entry or combination of entrys that come to that amount. TT verbiage where 2a comes from is not helpful.  There needs to be a smart worksheet that shows the dollars and cents that make up the total on 2a along with the sorce for each dollar.

@jkraeft1082   Your New Jersey tax identification (ID) number has 12 digits. If you have a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), your New Jersey tax ID number is your FEIN followed by a three-digit suffix. If you do not have a suffix, enter three zeroes.  

To go back to a lower version or the Free Edition you can try to clear and start over https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/using-turbotax/help/how-do-i-clear-and-start-over-in-turbotax-online/00/26444 If you started your tax return in TurboTax Free Edition (Form 1040 with limited credits; roughly 37% of taxpayers qualify), you won't need to clear and start over. You can select Switch to Free Edition instead. In the Turbo Tax Free Edition, information that you can enter is limited now.  Why do I have to upgrade from the Free Edition? https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/upgrading/help/why-do-i-have-to-upgrade-from-free-edition/00/26379 Or try the IRS Free File program https://www.irs.gov/filing/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free A couple reasons it could be saying you need to upgrade…. You might be seeing this because of form 8959, that goes to Schedule 2. The amount of Medicare taxes withheld in W2 box 6 is not exactly 1.45% of the Medicare wages in box 5, due to rounding. I read a post that said to try leaving the cents off of the Medicare tax on your W2 box 6. Box 6 has to be exactly 1.45% of box 5 or less. If it is saying you need Schedule 3 and can't use the Free Edition it might be giving you the Retirement Savings Credit. You can say you are a student to decline the credit. You must answer Yes when asked in the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit section if your were a full-time student. The answer to this same question asked in the personal-information section is not the answer that is used.

 @ThunderousWatcher  my first question is does your employer know you live in NJ ?  You should have taxes withheld from your paycheck for NJ, and if the employer will not, then you must pay estimated taxes to NJ.  There is a safe harbor you can choose that New Jersey taxpayers with taxable gross income exceeding $150,000 ($75,000 for married/civil union partner, filing separate) meet the safe harbor exception for the underpayment of estimated tax if the total amount of all payments of estimated tax made on or before the last date prescribed equals 110% of last year’s tax pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54A:9-6(d)(3). Safe harbor rules allow taxpayers to avoid underpayment penalties by paying either 100% of their previous year's tax liability or 80% of their current year's tax liability , whichever is smaller, through withholding and timely quarterly estimated payments. Payments are required if you expect to owe.  So safe bet is to set estimated taxes based on current year income and make sure to pay at least what you owed this year if your employer will not withhold.   Note you can always redo the estimated taxes if you find that you are working less hours in NY.  Just make sure to say when you redo the estimates, the amounts you already paid in.   The next issue is if your employer did NOT withhold NJ, did they report your W-2 with NJ as the state of income, often there is a Federal, NY and NJ W-2.  If not during the NJ interview you will have to adjust your income.  NY and Federal income are normally the same, NJ is normally higher.  NJ state wages (Box 16) are normally higher than federal wages (Box 1) because New Jersey does not allow deductions for pre-tax health insurance, commuter benefits, or non-401(k) retirement contributions (like 403(b) or 457 plans). NJ taxes many items that are exempt for federal purposes, making Box 16 generally higher. The interview will ask you about these so make sure to add them in if your employer did not report NJ wages.   You were correct to do the non-resident tax return first.  Then you complete NJ.  During the NJ interview if you had a W-2 for both NY and NJ, there will show a list of double taxed income and you will have to remove the NY wages so you are not taxed on both. If there is only 1 wage listed, you should not have to, again you will have to add the health insurance and retirement amounts back in if there is not a w-2 for NJ.   I hope this helps.  

Thanks for the info, very helpful.  I will go with option 3.  This is a TRUE scholarship (not employer assistance) as I was not required to work for it. I had to apply for and was awarded the scholarship. Only a handful of us, who were part of this summer program, were awarded the scholarship, in addition to our salary.   Social Security and Medicare taxes were also taken out of the scholarship.  Is there a way to get those taxes refunded?

I have the same problem (I use TT Online on my Mac. I am using Chrome if it matters). The help features say to enter foreign bank account interest earned as a normal 1099-INT. When I do that it allows me to move through the screens, but then I get an error message (Now, let's review your 1099-INT screen says in red that TT still needs some information and the FEIN box is highlighted in red).  I think the original question was that he is trying to enter interest income that (if it were from a US bank) would be reported on a 1099-INT, unless the amount was under $10 in interest earned. Even if the amount was less than $10, you're still supposed to report it.  If you have funds in a foreign bank and earn interest from those deposits, those banks do not issue a 1099-INT and most or all foreign banks do not have an FEIN. For example, if I had $5 interest income from a US based bank, I would not have a 1099-INT, but could still look up the FEIN for the bank and enter it as if I had a 1099-INT.  With a foreign bank there is no FEIN, so you can not enter the interest income as if you had a 1099-INT. You seem to be saying that TT will not demand an FEIN for a foreign bank. When I enter the interest income, TT does not ask if it is from a foreign bank, so I think I am missing something. Entering all zeros for the FEIN might be a workaround, but this appears to be a flaw or bug in TT.  Should I be entering this information on a different screen (not as if I had a 1099-INT)? Someone responded that this is an FBAR or FATCA issue. I think we understand that FBAR and FATCA reporting may be required, but that is not the question. The foreign interest income is taxable by the IRS and FBAR and FATCA do not address that issue. Here is what AI says about this issue after it told me to simply enter the information as a 1099-INT.   "Okay, but to enter a 1099-INT in Turbo Tax, you need an FEIN number.  Where do I get that number for a foreign bank? 10:06 PM   You raise a really good practical point, and this is one of those spots where TurboTax's interface creates friction for expat situations. The honest answer: you don't need one. Foreign banks don't have US Federal Employer Identification Numbers (FEINs). TurboTax asks for it because the field is designed around domestic 1099-INT forms, but it's not actually required for foreign interest income. How to handle it in TurboTax: There are a couple of workarounds commonly used: Leave the FEIN field blank — TurboTax should allow you to proceed without it for manually entered (non-imported) interest income Some users enter a placeholder like all zeros, though I'm not comfortable recommending that as it's not technically accurate The cleaner alternative approach: Rather than forcing foreign interest into the 1099-INT flow, some tax professionals recommend entering it as: Other Income → Less Common Income → Foreign Earned Income and Exclusion Or alternatively as miscellaneous income, with a clear description noting it's foreign bank interest."

You cannot edit Line 9b of Form 8960.     That amount comes from Schedule A line 5a.    That number is calculated on the Tax & Int Wks.    And the individual line item details are on the State Tax Ded worksheet.   Lines 1, 2, 3, and 5 are the individual components of your SALT deduction.   @junosmom    If you click in a box and it has a magnifying glass to the left of the field, click on that and you will be taken to the supporting form for that entry.   

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/amend-return/how-to-file-an-amended-return-with-the-irs/L6kO691J8  has a detailed answer to how to amend your return.  you possibly may owe interest and penalties.  It can be a little confusing but, it works.