Military retirement

[JMDodd]

Why is the format for entering 1099R information in turbo tax different this year? Why are my taxes due so much higher than in past years? I am not withdrawing from a retirement fund, I am receiving a retirement check. And what is up with all the disaster fund questions. These are retirement payments from the military not withdrawals from a retirement account.

[dmertz]

Nothing has substantially changed in TurboTax with regard to entering retirement income.  Make sure that you are entering the particular 1099-R on the correct type of 1099-R form in TurboTax.

[SteamTrain]

The disaster questions are annoying though...if you never took any special disaster distribution from any type of retirement account in this, or prior years, just skip thru them selecting "No", when available, and leaving the various "Repayment" entries blank when it asks how much.

[JMDodd]

There is no 1099R selection for Military Retired pay as in the past. I am not drawing from a pension fund.

[SusanY1]

Military retirement pay is taxable on your federal tax return, based on your 1099-R entries.  If you are paying more in tax something else has likely changed on your tax return such as your withholding or other income.

Your state may treat the military retirement pay differently, and this will be addressed in the state tax interview. 

[JMDodd]

Every thing on my return is the same as last year, no significant changes. But when I enter the 1099r for my active duty military pay my taxes almost triple from last year.

[SusanY1]

Something must be different.  A 1099-R is not for active duty pay and is not subject to any active duty benefits.  1099-R reports your taxable retirement pay.

It may help to get a copy of last year's tax return and compare it to a preview of your this year's 1040 to spot where the differences lie.  This may also help you spot if perhaps something is missing or duplicated. 

To preview this year's return follow these steps"

1. Log in to your tax return at TurboTax.com.
2. Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the screen (you may need to click on Continue in the center first).
3. Click on Tools.
4. In the box that pops up in the center, click on View Tax Summary.
5. In the menu that now appears on the left, click on Preview my 1040.

[JMDodd]

I meant to say retirement pay. Thank you anyway.

[DawnC]

As Susan stated above, something must be different.  At least something has been entered differently.   Compare your previous year's tax return with this year's.   You have to go through all of the follow-up questions after you enter the 1099-R in order for TurboTax to determine the true tax nature of your retirement income.   This includes all of those disaster questions.   Just click through those as it is doubtful that those have anything to do with the discrepancy you are seeing.   

Did you have any other kind of income this year that you did not have last year (Employment, Unemployment, Social Security, Gambling winnings, other 1099-Rs, etc?   Or has anything else changed like the amount of retirement income you received?   Have you gone through the state interview yet as this is where differences in income reporting and state rules would come in to play.