I have both rental income and royalty income from the same address. Turbotax shows the royalty income to be negative, why?

[Mike9241]

we can't see your return. look at schedule E the royalty column.  perhaps you entered something incorrectly. 

[bruce21]

I have a rental property that is also a royalty property.  I tried entering the royalty:

1. combined with the rental

2. As a separate royalty property

3.  On a different property with address not associated to the above.

When I review prior to filing, I keep getting an error message on Schedule E that: 

A.  rental and royalty properties have to be entered separately (for above, even though I removed royalty from rental).

B.  Royalty can't show days occupied.

In other words, TT keeps imputing this information into the royalty/ rental property, even though I removed it.  It will not refresh, even though I have logged out and back in twice.  TT is telling me that If I can't fix the errors, I should mail in the return.  I DONT WANT TO DO THAT! 

[bruce21]

I mistakenly entered this as a rental property and a royalty property.  TT won't let me change it

[Teresa2021x]

I have the exact same issue described in both comments. I’ve deleted and rentered the info many times, going in circles and getting nowhere. Following, with the hope someone can advise. I also DO NOT WANT TO FILE BY PAPER. 

[PatriciaV]

@Teresa2021x

Unfortunately, you can't report both rental income and royalty income under the same property on Schedule E. The information must be entered separately, Royalty first, then Rental.

If you are experiencing SmartCheck messages, your best option is to delete the properties (rental and royalty) from Your Rental and Royalties Summary page, then enter again.

But before you attempt to re-enter the information, please check to be sure all forms relating to this address (rental or royalty) have been removed from your return. Depending on which version of TurboTax you are using, follow the instructions here: 

• How do I view and delete forms in TurboTax Online?
• How do I delete a tax form in the TurboTax CD/Download software?

You are specifically looking for a form named "Schedule E, p1" and you may have more than one copy. If you see any of these related forms, delete them as well:  "Schedule Wks", "Form 4562", "Asset Wks", "Depr Report", "New Rental Wks." These forms usually appear under the main Schedule E and may have "Schedule E Worksheet" in front of the form name.

Now, enter two separate properties (activities) under Rental Properties & Royalties.

1. Go to your list of Rental/Royalty Properties (or Start a new list).
2. Add a new Rental Property for the Royalty income first. Be sure you checked the box for "Royalty" in the Property Profile section. Continue through the interview to enter your royalty income and any expenses.
3. After you've completed this review, add the Rental Property. You can keep the same address, but enter a different property description and be sure to mark this as "Rental". Continue through the interview to enter your rental information.

When you complete these entries and return to the Rental Property Summary page, try running SmartCheck again (under Federal Review).

[iambruce]

Thx for the excellent advisement.

Is this a TurboTax thing, or an IRS code requirement?

I've been struggling for months w/a property where I lived for 20yrs; then moved & rented in 2013. I sold mineral rights & realized royalties in 2014. I cannot tell if it's TurboTax that can't handle the situation or if I need to report it differently.

[PatriciaV]

The requirement to report rental activity separate from royalties comes from IRS Instructions for Schedule E Income or Loss From Rental Real Estate and Royalties, Line 1b. Rental properties are type 1 and royalties are type 6.

@iambruce 

[iambruce]

Thank you again.

The problem that I was having was that when separately entering my royalty rec'd and rent/expenses on the same property, on separate Schedule Es, TurboTax changed the radio button selected from rental to royalty on the rental. It took me a while to realize what had happened. Deleting both forms (as you suggested), and re-entering the royalty 1st, and the rental 2nd seemed to work. The minor "problem" with that is that the prev yr comparisons don't match up for this year; TurboTax compares last yr's rental to this yr's royalty on the property.

I have never been much of a fan of TurboTax and its self-aggrandizing, "we'll get you your biggest refund" rhetoric, charging for state e-filing, frequently pushing to upgrade software versions for an add'l fee, but this appears to be a flat-out software error, which is certainly heightens my level of disappointment in the product.