All Posts

Per this excerpt from an IRS article, a mortgage payment would not be explicitly allowed as an eligible hardship emergency for a 401-K distribution. As such, you would have to substantiate that the payment was of an immediate and heavy financial need, such as if you were going to lose your house unless you made the mortgage payment. If you did it just so you would not get behind on the mortgage, that may not qualify.

Updating your address on your W-2 is not the same as changing your State of Legal Residence (SLR) for tax withholding. To stop MA from appearing on future W-2s, you must submit:   DD Form 2058 (State of Legal Residence Certificate): This is the official document that tells the military to stop withholding for State A and start for State B.  SC-W4: South Carolina's withholding allowance certificate. Action: Submit these to your unit's RPAC or Finance Office. If they say "it's already updated," point to Box 15 on your latest W-2 as proof that it is not updated in the payroll system.

You can't request a call in this forum but TurboTax does have a product that will help you along the way while you are preparing your taxes, called Expert Assist.  You can speak to an expert if you use this product.   Refer to the TurboTax article How do I get TurboTax Experts? for more information.

If you need to change something you entered for Form 1099-MISC that won't accept a new entry, your best option is to delete (trashcan icon) the 1099-MISC from the list and enter the information again.   To see the 1099-MISC forms in your return, go to Miscellaneous Income.

To find out what your 2024 tax liability is, you will need to look at your 2024 return and look on line 24. Even if you don’t have a business, the IRS can add penalties for a few common reasons:   If you didn’t have enough tax withheld from your paycheck during the year, the IRS may charge a small penalty. This often happens if: You changed jobs You didn’t update your W‑4 You had side income (even small amounts) You had unemployment benefits You withdrew from retirement accounts

Rental Property sales are entered in two places in TurboTax Online under Rental Properties and Royalties.   Open your return and go to Rental Properties & Royalties. On the Rental and Royalty Summary page, click Edit (pencil icon) beside the property you sold. (If you didn't report this property last year, you'll need to complete all the interview questions, including setting up the asset(s) for depreciation.) Click Edit beside the Rental Property info. Under General Info: "Situations" (or on the page "Do Any of These Situations Apply?"), click "I sold or disposed of this property." Continue through the screens back to the Property Summary page. Click Edit beside Sold Rental Property. Go directly to your asset summary and click Edit beside the rental asset you sold. Continue to the page "Tell Us More About This Rental Asset" and check the box for "The item was sold..." Enter the date of the sale in the pop-up box. Follow the prompts to enter the sale information. Continue back to the Property Summary page. Click Done and answer any follow-up questions.   See also: I sold my rental property. How do I report that?

South Carolina passed legislation in February for seniors to get a break on property taxes - this action has nothing to do with income taxes.  There was also legislation passed to reduce income tax rates effective in 2026   Meanwhile, the South Carolina Senate rejected a bill on March 31, 2026 that would couple South Carolina to the Federal tax code and the One Big Beautiful Bill.  Because of that, South Carolina is still not compliant with the Senior Tax Deduction on the Federal return that was introduced in the One Big Beautiful Bill.   South Carolina has also extended their 2025 tax filing deadline to October 15, 2026.  This automatic extension applies only to filing the South Carolina tax return.  Any tax liability to South Carolina is still expected to be paid by April 15, 2026.

There may have been program updates made after you filed. When your software updates, it will pull in the changes. Check your forms for accuracy before filing. Mortgage interest calculations on mortgages with balances over $750,000 require an extra look.   Reference: About Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction

Yes, tech constantly changes and evolves.  Difference in perspectives comes as the result of riding/surfing the waves or just watching form the beach in some nice shades.  One must distinguish hype from reality & necessity.  Btw, I know (at least 95% certainty, a bit conservative) what a software, TT in question here, can and should do (better). 

I do not see the intuit account in the lower left hand corner. In turbo tax I can see manage my account and when I follow those steps it never ask for a password and it doesn’t update my email so I’m not in the right place. 

When the IRS or a state tax agency mentions a "Health Trust Fund" in the context of a delayed return, they are usually referring to one of two very different things.To help you figure out which one is stalling your approval, check which of these scenarios fits your situation:   1. The "Trust Fund Recovery Penalty" (Most Likely if you own a business) If you are self-employed or own a small business with employees, the IRS uses the term "Trust Fund Taxes" to describe the income tax, Social Security, and Medicare you withhold from your employees' paychecks. They call it a "trust fund" because you are holding that money in trust for the government.   The Problem: If the IRS believes these weren't paid in full, they can "flag" your personal tax return and hold your refund to cover the debt.   What to do: Look for a Notice CP15 or Letter 1153. You will likely need to provide proof of payroll deposits or file a protest if you think they have the numbers wrong.     2. State-Specific Health Mandates (e.g., Massachusetts or California) Some states (most notably Massachusetts with its "Health Safety Net Trust Fund") require you to prove you had health insurance.   The Problem: If you didn't attach the correct form (like Schedule HC in MA or Form 3853 in CA), the state will stop your return because they think you owe a penalty for not having insurance.   What to do: Check if you received a 1095-B, 1095-C, or a state-specific form (like the MA 1099-HC). You may need to file an amended return or a "missing information" response to prove you were covered.   3. Health Savings Account (HSA) Issues Sometimes, people accidentally refer to their HSA as a "health trust."   The Problem: If you took money out of an HSA but didn't file Form 8889, the IRS sees that "trust" distribution as taxable income, which causes a mismatch in your filing.   What to do: Ensure Form 8889 was included with your Form 1040.   How to get it moving:   Check your mail: The IRS or state agency always sends a letter explaining exactly why the return isn't approved. Verify your "Responsible Person" status: If this is related to a business, are you listed as the person responsible for payroll? Check your state forms: Did you live in a state with a health insurance mandate last year?