All Posts

When trying to pay using a credit card for filing the state taxes electronically, there is a bug in the system which will not let you use a credit card expiration month of 12. (I think this may have been an issue last year as well as I read a post that said you also could not enter months 9, 10, or 11 either). I was fortunately able to finally enter my payment with a card that had an expiration month of 8 which it accepted.  Once the state filing fee paid the returns were E-filed simultaneously for federal and state.  No idea why the expiration month wouldn't work from the drop-down menu and you cannot override the drop down to enter it manually either, so frustrating. 

By trying to fix one problem in the software I ran into another.  My wife, as Clergy, is considered self-employed.  This creates a bee's nest of confusion in the TT software, but I have been able to mostly address the issues to this point.  However, this year I ran into a new problem trying to fix the first issue we always encounter (with her Housing allowance).     I sought to make a correction to account for the housing allowance and in the 'Other Reportable Income' link that I clicked it led me through a number of potential income sources.  One of those sources was asking about PPP Loan forgiveness from 2020 or 2021.  Our family received the federal stimulus that took place during those years, but my wife did not receive a PPP Loan.  I can't click past it to get to the screen I need, and so I'm presently stuck.    Does TT assume my wife got a PPP Loan because of her self-employment status, or were the public stimulus payments that were made then loans that need some sort of forgiveness?  If the monies we received back then were considered loans, and indeed need forgiveness, I have never seen any indication of this before now. However, if this is truly specific to PPP Loans, not having an option to indicate that none were received, is quite frustrating.    The screenshot below shows where I'm stuck.   

For example ; millions of people have investment properties that they fix up and sell ; ie flip. not rent out. But TT still doesn't ask you that question they only ask if it 's your main primary home, 2nd home , Land , etc. NOT just a bought , fixed up and sold. I see the same question year after year. So here the correct path on TT HB 2025 .   GO to Investments , click the "OTHER" box ( Land,Second home, Personal Items ) , this is where they want you to call them to pay them to tell you this. It's set up not for real estate but stocks. They ask about Financial Institutions , rather then having a box to check that says " NO FINANCIAL INSTITUTION" you have to type this in, then you will put in the address of where it asks for description , rather then asking for address of the property. Then put in the COST BASIS ( Purchase price plus all other expenses to fix it up, closing costs, carrying costs, realtor commissions etc) and then the sold price ( they call it “Proceeds “) NOT the amount of the check you walk out with, the Contract price.   #2, Huge Flaw . Most businesses have vehicles to write off , but they DON"T tell you is, that if you don't check "YES", to " DO YOU KEEP PERSONAL RECORDS OF YOUR MILES '' you can't go forward in there program, to write off the vehicle under section 179.  It took hours to figure this out . They could easily put a notation mark there and mention this , but not again , they want you to call and pay to ask them this or ask why it isn't working. To get here , you have to choose the "ACTUAL EXPENSES" over standard mileage. Again, why NO NOTATION mark to tell you this. Also , they don't ever mention or use the wording Section 179 .   #3. They always ask do you have any other forms you need ? That's why you and I are paying them to know that , they need to be asking more questions. How would I know if I need more forms or not? They say go to there forum to get the advice which they don't want to give you unless you pay them so they make you hunt it down to get it. These are not Flaws but purposely done this way to make them money and pay for a simple answer rather then just making it more clearer, better questions and /or some notations.   Hopefully this information about the Properties  and vehicles will help you. I don't where this will go if anywhere, But if you liked it , thumbs up I guess. I reposted this to clarify the Cost basis , as I couldn't edit the first post.  

I am looking for a professional check on my plan to "un-clog" my Traditional IRA so I can begin doing Backdoor Roth IRA contributions without triggering the Pro-Rata Rule.   Current Situation: I have an IRA at Fidelity with approximately $74,000 in it. This is a mix of annual post-tax IRA basis contributions along with a previous employer's 401(k) that I rolled in roughly 8 years ago. I am 31 now and didn't know what I was doing when I originally did this, I am regretting it now and am trying to undo this/see what other options I may have.  My current income will soon approach the limit where I can no longer contribute directly to a Roth IRA, so I want to try to repair this situation so I may be able to utilize the Backdoor Roth method in the near future (probably for my 2026 filing).  I understand that because of the Pro-Rata Rule, I cannot simply contribute $7,000 of post-tax money to that IRA and convert it tax-free to my Roth while that $74k balance exists as it is a mixture of pre and post-tax money.   I did some research online and it seems that I may be able to perform a "Reverse Rollover" by moving the entire $74,000 from my Fidelity IRA into my current employer's 401(k) plan (at T. Rowe Price). I am in the process of speaking with T. Rowe Price to confirm that they will accept incoming rollovers to a 401(k) from traditional IRAs.    If I can do this, my plan is to roll the $74,000 in this IRA into my current employer's 401(k), then file my taxes, and contribute the $7,000 (or however much I can to maximize my return, the rest will go to my Roth) to this IRA along with my 2025 filing.    My Questions: Can I do a reverse rollover of the $74,000 to my current 401(k) with some post-tax (basis) mixed with pre-tax (401(k) rollover)? If I move the $74,000 into the 401(k) and my Traditional IRA balance is roughly the "fresh" $7,000 (or however much) I contributed for 2025, am I correct that the Pro-Rata rule will no longer apply to any Roth conversions I do in the future? Does the IRS look at the total balance of all IRAs combined, even if the money is moved after the conversion but before the end of the year? Are there any specific "gotchas" in TurboTax when reporting an IRA-to-401k rollover (1099-R with Code G?) to ensure it doesn't accidentally show up as taxable income?