Turbotax asking for Schedule E Passive Operating Loss on rental property

[bb106]

We have a rental property and when running a final check on federal, Turbotax says: "Schedule E worksheet: Passive Operating Loss must be entered." And shows a blank box for me to enter a number. 

I have zero clue what to put here -- I'm assuming this is something that Turbotax should be carrying over? 

Saw a similar question and reply but still don't know what to put down based on last year's Schedule E.

Thanks.

[PatriciaV]

Passive Loss Carryovers for Rental Activities are not reported on Schedule E. You will find the carryover for prior years on Form 8582, Part VII, column c. If you have always made a profit, this number may be zero.

You can also see this carryover on the Schedule E Worksheet for your rental property. Look for "Carryovers to 2024 Smart Worksheet" (for a tax year 2024 return) after the QBI section under Line 22. The suspended loss is reported on Line G of this table.

While TurboTax normally transfers carryovers from last year to your current return, it's possible this function wasn't successful for you this year. But the forms should give you the entry you need.

See also: How do I view, download, or print a prior-year tax return?

[bb106]

I tried that and it still gives an error message: "Passive Operating Loss ...sum of losses in individual years should not be greater than the total loss."

All of this has always been automatically filled in/calculated by Turbotax and I've never manually entered any of this info.

So...I'm at a loss (pun intended).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

[PatriciaV]

In that case, you need to double-check your loss allocation entries to be sure there is not a rounding issue that is causing your individual losses to be more than your total loss reported.

If so, adjust the most recent year so the sum matches the total calculated by TurboTax.

Example:

2019 = (2001)

2020 = (4001)

2021 = (3001)

Total of individual years = (-9003)

Total per Form = (9002)

[rsturtevant]

I have the same exact problem.  However, the correct number is on the "Carryovers to 2024 Smart Worksheet". The Sch E line 22 is a totally different number as well. So I have no idea what to do about Passive Operating Loss which is on none of the forms.  I don't even know what cell it would affect if I wrote something in. 

[PatriciaV]

It would be helpful to have a TurboTax file from both years to test this issue further.

If you would be willing to send us a “diagnostic” file that has your “numbers” but not your personal information, please follow these instructions for both TurboTax 2023 and 2024.

In TurboTax Desktop, open your return and go to Online in the TurboTax header. (On a Mac computer, choose Share or Help.)

1. Choose Send Tax File to Agent.
2. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click Send on this screen and wait for the Token number to appear.
3. Reply to this thread with a screenshot your Token number (this avoids Community filters for numbers with a dash) and tag (@) the Expert requesting the token from you.
4. Please include any States that are part of your return - this is VERY important.

We will then be able to see the same experience you are having. If we are able to determine the cause, we'll reply here and provide you with a resolution. 

@rsturtevant 

@bb106 

[edited to request tokens 2/23/25 | 3:47 pm PT]

[rsturtevant]

Thank you. The token number is below.  Let me know if there is anything else I can do.  

[jazzper21]

Hello @PatriciaV - I'm having the same issue.  My state is PA.  Thank you and please let me know if you need anything else.

@

[dana2004]

Same problem, I just entered 0 and it seemed to work. 

[rsturtevant]

Is there any update on this issue? Do you know if it is something filers are doing or is it the software?  Can you tell us what field the entry would affect?

Thank you,

[PAW83]

Same issue here, it's not clear how this should be resolved and hasn't been an issue in past years.  Is there a fix?

[PatriciaV]

To adequately test this experience, we need tokens for both tax years 2023 and 2024. TurboTax Online cannot provide a prior year token. If anyone on this thread used TurboTax for Desktop to prepare a 2023 tax return, please follow the previously posted instructions and post tokens for both 2023 and 2024, including the State (if any). Thank you.

@bb106 

@rsturtevant 

@PAW83 

[PAW83]

I'm not using desktop, but I've been reviewing the form, and I believe it's this field causing issues.  This is under section "Disallowed Passive Losses by Year and Type" on Schedule E worksheet.  You can see it is labeled "Passive Operating Loss" when I hover over it, and it is not filled in.  This appears to be because the worksheet is indexing out of sequence.  Looking back at my forms, 2023 disallowed losses were -$1918 and 2022 were $0.  I have two other properties with the same error, so I will check to see if the same thing is happening there.

[PAW83]

Confirmed same issue on other properties - example below.  Is there a way to directly edit the form?  I don't see another way to fix it, as I can't fix the 2nd prior year amount my filling in the box.

[PAW83]

I decided to fix this by downloading the desktop version, where you can manually edit the worksheets per my notes above.  It imports your online work, so you don't lose anything.