Does turbo help you when their software made an error in your return and you have to pay $6000 tax?

Forum|Forum|26 days ago
May 16, 2026
2 replies
201 views

When I entered my social security income, turbo put 0 on 6b (taxable amount) so IRS wrote a letter saying there is a math error. how can that be , turbo automatically calculates. i entered all the data correctly. This is it for me for turbo tax, not dependable and inaccurate!

TurboTax Online

Bsch4477

Level 15

What is the amount on line 6a?

fanfare

Level 15

Always print a copy of your completed tax return for your records, and review it carefully before e-Filing.
You will need it if you are audited by the IRS, to contact the IRS, or to amend if a TurboTax update changes your return or for any other reason,
SUCH AS, ....

To observe that your taxable amount of Social Security is correct, not zero.

AND, to find your AGI next year.

@margiespino

rjs

Level 15

The IRS calls any error in a tax return a math error. That does not mean that the calculations were wrong.

If your Form 1040 or 1040-SR has an amount on line 6a and zero on line 6b you probably incorrectly answered the question about living abroad on the next screen after you entered your SSA-1099. The question asks whether you are a U.S. citizen and you lived in one of the eight countries listed in the question. If you did not live in one of those countries you have to answer No. If you answered Yes line 6b will be zero. That is not a software error.

margiespinoAuthor

Level 2

I answered no

rjs

Level 15

Did the IRS correct anything else on the tax return besides the taxable amount of Social Security? The amount of your Social Security benefits that is taxable depends on how much other income you have. A change in the taxable amount of Social Security could be the result of another change that increases the amount of your income. When that happens the wording of the IRS notice is misleading. When the IRS says that the taxable Social Security was calculated incorrectly, they mean that it has become incorrect because of other changes in your tax return that affect the taxable amount of Social Security. The calculation on the original tax return was correct, based on the income reported on that tax return. But a change in the amount of income, typically because income was omitted or underreported, requires an increase in the taxable amount of Social Security. So the Social Security amount on the original tax return is no longer correct for the corrected amount of income.