All Posts

When filing Married Filing Separately (MFS) in a community property state (AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, WI), you would report 50% of your spouse’s 401(k) contributions and 50% of their wages on your tax return. You must file Form 8958 to allocate this community income.    TurboTax generates Form 8958 (Allocation of Tax Amounts) when you select "Married Filing Separately" in a community property state. Search for "8958" in TurboTax, select the "Jump to" link, and answer "Yes" to community property adjustments to trigger the necessary worksheet for dividing income and withholdings.   IRS Form 8958 is used by married couples or Registered Domestic Partners (RDPs) living in community property states who file separate federal income tax returns. It allocates community income, deductions, and withholding between both spouses (50/50 split), ensuring correct tax reporting. It is mandatory in these states.   When you file separately in a community property state, you must follow your state's definition of separate and community property. You would split your wages equally. Similarly, split withholding, deductions, and credits, as each spouse is only responsible for their 50% share (withholding is shown on Line 11 of Form 8958). Also, if you file Married Filing Separately, you must either both itemize or both take the standard deduction.   The IRS suggests married couples in community property states look at their tax situation under both joint and separate filing options to determine which version saves them the most. Filing a joint return may be less complex and qualify you for tax credits. Filing separately depends on your situation and how your itemized deductions stack up against the Standard Deduction.   When you live in a community property state and file separate returns, you each must report 50 percent of your spouse's income and half of income generated by community assets, plus all of your separate income. The IRS has an allocation worksheet to simplify your calculations in Publication 555 Community Property. You also have to decide who will claim dependent children.   You can use TurboTax Online to test different scenarios before deciding to file jointly or separately. Click here for more information. Once you decide, you can use either Online or Desktop to prepare the return(s).   Click here for tax tips for community property states.   See this tax tips article for more information about entering information on Form 8958.    

@sureshbk    You wrote: "Social Security will be taxes between 50% to 85%." That is not correct. The percentage of your Social Security benefits that is taxable can be anywhere from 0% to 85%. The only absolutely certain way to calculate the taxable amount of your Social Security benefits is to use the IRS worksheets. Note that the calculator that you referenced mentions some situations that it does not handle. However, if your Form 1040 or 1040-SR in TurboTax has zero on line 6b, the most likely explanation is that you made the error that DoninGA described above.  

Line 9a Form 2441 is saying 200. I mean, Line 2 of Schedule DC says Enter 9A of form 2441, so it is also 200. What I am asking is that I thought the Law says a minimum of 20% of the 6k Expense Cap. (We're way over that number.)    Does the PA $1,200 floor apply to the gross expenses before the DCA subtraction, or only the net credit after?  That's not how I would be interpreting this--- I mean, why sign up for a DCA if I'm leaving a grand on the table?

no one on this forum or TurboTax knows why. Only the IRS. you can wait for the letter/notice of explanation which will include instructions on how to challenge the IRS findings and what documents to provide or you could call them. 800-829-1040

Your passive carryover loss should be reported on the Activity Worksheet for the rental property under the Hawaii forms. Line 7 reports Passive disallowed loss (carryover to next year).   Since your federal return uses the Hawaii rental losses to offset other income, you won't have a carryover loss on your federal return next year. But the disallowed passive loss can be used on your Hawaii return in the future when you have passive income.

No one in the user forum can resolve a billing issue.  If you have a question about your TurboTax fees or billing, make sure you use the word “billing” in your request for help.  Do not use the word “refund.”   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/account-management/contact-turbotax/L2y9ZKpQB_US_en_US?uid=m5s9l2vh

My status on the IRS site also now says "We have reviewed your return and any information we may have requested from you and are now processing your return. Any changes to the status of your refund, including any new refund date, will be reflected here when any new update is available."  This was after receiving my letter, then saving the Form 5695 ONLY (not my entire return) as a PDF from the TurboTax site and uploading it, along with the copy of the letter, as instructed.  Hopefully my status changes from "Return Received" to "Refund Approved" soon!

  Federal and state refunds come from completely separate entities,  There is no rule as to which one will come first or how much time there will be between their arrivals.  Some states process returns quickly and some are very slow.   STATE RETURN Make sure your state return was accepted:  https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/   To track your state refund:       ttps://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/track-state-refund/L3jgO8PGs_US_en_US?uid=lt447ebr https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/state-taxes/contact-state-department-revenue/L9qVToi02_US_en_US?uid=m6e06um0

To check on regular tax refund status via automated phone, call 800-829-1954.   Federal and state refunds come from completely separate entities.  There is no rule as to which one will come in first or how long it will be between their arrival in your account.   TurboTax gives you an estimated date for receiving your refund based on a 21 day average from your date of acceptance, but it can take longer.  “21 days”  is not a promise from TurboTax or the IRS.      First, check your e-file status to see if your return was accepted:  https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/   Once your federal return has been accepted by the IRS, only the IRS has any control.  TurboTax does not receive any updates from the IRS. Your ONLY source of information about your refund now is the IRS.     You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2025 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:    https://www.irs.gov/refunds   To track your state refund:     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/track-state-refund/L3jgO8PGs_US_en_US?uid=lt447ebr   If you chose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your federal refund, that will take some extra time, while the third party bank handles the refund processing     https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/refunds-take-longer-others/L14YlqFrH_US_en_US?uid=lexdr7zh . https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/irs-refund-taking-longer-21-days/L2vRAJbdU_US_en_US?uid=lexe7lst         If you are getting earned income credit on line 27 or additional child tax credit on line 28 You are subject to the delay required by the PATH act.  Do not expect your refund before early March   https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/internal-revenue-service/federal-refunds-delayed-due-path-act/L5jnQJsBi_US_en_US   Note:  “Accepted” is not the same as “approved”.  TurboTax tells you the e-file was accepted if the IRS deems that there is enough information on the return for them to take it in for processing.   Only the IRS can approve of the refund, which is a later stage of processing.  If the IRS approves your refund they will provide a date for the refund to be issued.   FROM THE IRS WHERE’S MY REFUND SITE: https://www.irs.gov/wheres-my-refund How it works Where's My Refund shows your refund status: Return Received – We received your return and are processing it. Refund Approved – We approved your refund and are preparing to issue it by the date shown. Refund Sent – We sent the refund to your bank or to you in the mail. It may take 5 days for it to show in your bank account or several weeks for your check to arrive in the mail.      

I know the state matches the federal percentage, but if you have 3 or more kids, isn't there a $1,200 minimum floor on the PA Schedule DC? Even if our federal credit is lowered by our FSA, the state credit for families with 2+ kids shouldn't drop below $1,200?