Is there a TurboTax program error regarding the 1099R Summary regarding the insurance premiums for retired law enforcement?

[Fedmom]

In the Federal review I keep getting an error on Line 26d when conducting the final check/review before filing. The amount on that line keeps doubling to $6000. The amount should be $3000 which is what the error says. I am a retired safety officer. PossibleProgram problem? I have deleted and reentered the 1099R from OPM several times; however, the amount keeps defaulting to $6000. This I believe is overstating my taxable income by $3000. The program should autofill the box with the $3000. I thought I could just click on the summary sheet and correct it to 3000, but that does not seem possible. This shouldn't be this hard to fix! Can you help direct me??

[CarolC]

See if this helps.  Enter Form 1099-R exactly how it appears.  Answer Yes to the question, if you were Employed as a Public Safety Officer (law enforcement officer, firefighter, chaplain, or member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew). 

Answer Yes, if the Pension Administrator Paid for Health Insurance.

Enter the total amount paid for the Health Insurance Payment Amount.  If needed, TurboTax will reduce the deduction to the $3,000 allowed.  

If this doesn't work, try deleting Form 1099-R and starting over again.  See the TurboTax FAQ below for steps on how to delete a form.  Click "See entire answer" for the full page view.

"To qualify for this deduction, the distribution must be made directly from the plan to the insurance provider.  You can only make this election for amounts that would otherwise be included in your income.  The amount excluded from your income can't be used to claim a medical expense deduction."

Click IRS Publication 575 for additional PSO deduction information.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3434007

[Fedmom]

None of these directions worked. What seemed to work was when the question is asked about how much of the amount in box 5 was health insurance premiums; I changed the full amount (which was $6300) to zero. When I checked the form after this, the program made the proper deduction of $3000 (instead of the errored $6000). Very weird and seems something is not right in the program? After this, the "smart check/federal review" did not identify any errors. It did increase my taxes owed by $750 though, which bummed me out. Please respond if there is another solution.

[CarolC]

Box 5 generally pertains to a Roth contributions and insurance premiums paid for life insurance and annuities.  Something does not seem right.  Can you attach a screenshot for the question "how much of the amount in box 5 was health insurance premiums" please?

[Fedmom]

I attached it above in the initial question. As you can see, I typed in zero, as when I put in the full amount of $6300 it results in the error previously described. Thank you for your interest in helping!

[CarolC]

@Fedmom Got it!  I missed the OPM part of your original post.  And Box 5 of a CSA-1099 will include your health insurance premiums.  I tested the numbers on my end using $6,300 for the "Health Insurance Payment Amount" and the software calculated a $3,000 PSO deduction for line 16b. When I enter "zero" in the same box, the deduction is removed.  Make sure you have the latest updates for your software.  The software may be pulling information from something else entered.  Review your return in Forms Mode (click Form icon at the top) and look for the PSO deduction on the 1040.  If everything is reflecting correctly, then more than likely you're fine.  But entering "zero" removes the deduction for me.

[davej4573]

I am a Federal retiree, but not as a former law enforcement member.  I had the same problem, but noted the amount in Box 5 of the 1099-R did not carry over to the worksheets for the 1099's or for medical expenses.  one of the the "more info" notes that I clicked on when completing one of the pages indicated the amount in box 5 would carry over to the total health insurance amount.  Box 5 on my 1099-R says the number can represent more than just insurance premiums, but, in my case, the number was exactly the amount of my premiums.  Is it possible the TurboTax program needs to ask what that number represents or, perhaps, I just missed where it does so? 

[KrisD15]

Yes, there should have been a screen that asked if it was health insurance premiums. 

That is the screen that follows "Were You Employed as a Public Safety Officer?