All Posts

Also your SS might not be taxable.  Only up to 85% of Social Security becomes taxable when all your other income plus 1/2 your social security, reaches: Married Filing Jointly: $32,000 Single or head of household: $25,000 Married Filing Separately: 0   So if you want abigger refund then have more tax withholding taken out of your pension.  

And You can only deduct the amount of unreimbursed Medical Expenses you actually paid over 7.5% of your AGI. So it might take a lot to be worth entering. And then all your itemized deductions have to be more than the standard deduction to get any benefit (so you would only be getting the benefit of the amount that puts you over the standard deduction).    For 2026 NEXT YEAR the standard deduction amounts are: Single 16,100 + 2,050 for 65 and over or blind (18,150) HOH 24,150 + 2,050 for 65 and over or blind (26,200) Joint 32,200 + 1,650 for each 65 and over or blind (33,850/35,500) Married filing Separate 16,100 + 1,650 for 65 and over or blind (17,750)

It appears that TurboTax considers income from being a Notary Public as not being earned income that will support an IRA contribution because a Notary Public is a public office.  TurboTax not treating income from being a Notary Public as being income that will support an IRA contribution is the way that TurboTax has been implemented for many years.  However, I'm not sure that TurboTax developers have interpreted 26 U.S. Code § 1402(c)(1) correctly:   (c)Trade or business The term “trade or business”, when used with reference to self-employment income or net earnings from self-employment, shall have the same meaning as when used in section 162 (relating to trade or business expenses), except that such term shall not include—   (1)the performance of the functions of a public office, other than the functions of a public office of a State or a political subdivision thereof with respect to fees received in any period in which the functions are performed in a position compensated solely on a fee basis and in which such functions are not covered under an agreement entered into by such State and the Commissioner of Social Security pursuant to section 218 of the Social Security Act;   I think that:   other than the functions of a public office of a State or a political subdivision thereof with respect to fees received in any period in which the functions are performed in a position compensated solely on a fee basis and in which such functions are not covered under an agreement entered into by such State and the Commissioner of Social Security pursuant to section 218 of the Social Security Act;   describes a Notary Public.   I have been unable to find any guidance on this subject from an authoritative source, in particular, nothing from the IRS.

Enter your W-2 exactly as it is.  Box 4 is your social security tax. When you enter your W-2, you will see boxes 12 and 14 to enter the amounts along with a drop-down menu to select the description.  Don't change anything or add amounts to other boxes.  The information that your employer lists in box 14 of your W-2 doesn't affect your income tax return, but you should enter it when you are inputting your W-2 data.  TurboTax provides you with a drop-down menu of codes you can choose for your W-2 Box 12 and 4 entries.  If what’s in box 14 doesn't match a drop-down code, select Other for the code in box 14.    For more information, please review the TurboTax article What is box 14 on my W2 for? and How do I fill out the box 12 information from my W-2?  

What business tax?  If you need to file Schedule C for self employment income you add it to your personal tax return.  If you need to file a 1065 or 1120 or 1120-S corp you need the separate Business program in addition to a personal version.     You can enter Schedule C for Self Employment Income into Online Deluxe but if you have any expenses you will have to upgrade to Premium version. Or use any of the Desktop Download programs. Online Premium https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/premium   If you need Turbo Tax Business, not to be confused with the personal Home & Business version. Home & Business is just for personal returns that need schedule C for self employment. TT Business is not available to do online or on a Mac. You can buy the Windows Desktop program here, https://turbotax.intuit.com/small-business-taxes/cd-download You can have both a personal program and the Business program installed on the same computer at the same time.