Pensions not included in 1040 Line 4a? But is included in Line 4b. Line 4b should not be > 4a. Line 4a should be all 1099-R B1, Line 4b sum of Box 2a.

[jsmileyz]

Appears only 1099-R with IRA Box 7 checked are being picked up one Line 4a. This appears to be not consistent with IRS instructions for Line 4a which appear to want the sum of all 1099-R Box 1 (regardless of IRA, pension or annuity). TT error appears to be a transition error from the old 1040 method of handling separate lines for IRA's and pensions. TT worksheets have not been updated to 2018.

[prtaylor56]

This is exactly correct, unlike the answers being given by several other "experts" that claim the it's OK for Line 4a to be less than Line 4b.  This  problem is caused by a broken link in the TurboTax worksheet "1040 Wks".  The broken link is between Line 4 (Pensions and Annuities) and its data source (line 25 of the TurboTax worksheet named "1099-R Summary").  Telling people it's OK or normal for the gross amount to be less than the taxable amount is wrong.  TurboTax needs to fix this, period.  My question is, does anyone know for certain that they are planning to fix it?

[Razorback100]

Was told yesterday (2/8) that they were working on it, but no estimate as to when it would be fixed.  My return is on hold until it's fixed.

[prtaylor56]

@razorback100

Did someone from TurboTax support tell you they were working on it?  I reported it myself, but the agent just said she would request someone to look into it, which gave me little confidence - especially since she added that they would have to wait for the final versions of the IRS Forms.  The Form 1040 is already final, and this problem is caused by a TurboTax worksheet, so it didn't seem that she really understood my complaint.

Moreover, there are loads of people in the user community who think it's correct as is, according to their interpretation of the IRS instructions.  One even said that the line labels are too short to tell what really goes there,  So with that logic, I guess we don't need to worry about what's on Line 4a, and in fact quite a few have said just that.

[Razorback100]

Having read your response, I believe I got the same reply as you did.  I euphemistically took that to mean it would be fixed.  My bad!  

Today I searched for 1040 Line 4a in Turbo Tax Help and found the following:

Why doesn't the amount on line 4a of form 1040 agree with total gross distributions per 1099-Rs (from IRAs, 401K, and pension)?
This issue has been recognized. Please see the link below and be sure to click on the link to be notified of a fix or workaround. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/7147729">https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/7147729</a>

By: TurboTaxBillMc

I don't know when it was posted or if TurboTaxBillMc speaks for TurboTax or not.  When I tried the link, it said that the question had been deleted.

[arcollett]

I am seeing same problem with 1040 4a not being correct - following to see if Turbo Tax intends to fix but not sure they are monitoring these thread. The link referred to above didn't work for me either.

[Jim-Karam]

TurboTax support said today that they are indeed aware of the discrepancy, although they advised that the IRS doesn't seem to care.  Since I can't e-file for other reasons, I decided to simply override the pensions field on the worksheet and enter the proper value, since it is just distasteful to me to have a gross value display on the 1040 that is much less than the corresponding taxable amount.

[ga hiker]

TurboTax support told me that we could file electronically even with overrides. I don't necessarily believe that. How can we know yea or ney?

[Jim-Karam]

Perhaps I over-reacted to the message I got when I did an error check.  It doesn't actually say that you cannot e-file, but only that you'll be bypassing some of their internal checks.  If I were you, I'd just try it.

[prtaylor56]

Look at TurboTax sheet "1040 Wks" Line 4, the sub-line labelled "Pensions and Annuities".  Right-click on the box there and see that it's data source is Line 25 of the TurboTax worksheet "1099-R Summary".  Go to that worksheet and see that Line 25 is labelled "Gross distribution transferred to Form 1040, Line 16a".  Obviously that label should be changed from "16a" to "4a", and that is a mistake on a TurboTax worksheet, not an IRS Form. Also note a similar labeling mistake on Line 32d of sheet "1099-R Summary".

But the bigger problem is that when there is an amount on Line 25 of the 1099-R Summary worksheet, the 1040 Wks Line 4 that is supposed to take its entry from there remains blank.  Fixing that will also fix this Line 4a problem.

So I would encourage all who care about this to report its as described above, since just complaining that gross distributions are calculated as less than the taxable portion hasn't produced any action.  So far, I'd say it's not the IRS that "doesn't seem to care", it's TurboTax.

[Razorback100]

Anybody heard anything new on this?

Seems like we should at least be getting something official from Turbo Tax saying we're working on it  or it's correct the way it is.

I am ready to file except for this.  

[libby3057]

I have spent over 4 hours with 2 different Customer Support teams to try to figure out this error.  The 2nd team said my pension was not taxable and sent me an IRS link.  The IRS link goes to a Tax Topic.  When I use the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant, it says the pension IS taxable.  Right now, TurboTax says I get a $7895 Federal refund.
When I use Tax Slayer to do my exact same tax return, it does the 1099-R section correctly and shows my refund is now $1200 Federal Refund.

[Barry-from-WI]

this was my question and the response:  <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4573173-why-is-line-4a-less-than-line-4b-on-for-1040">https://ttlc...>. No fix yet, as far as I can tell.

[angela829]

Having the same problems as of 3/9/2019. Also since I have non-deductible IRA withdrawal tracking in TT this screw up the form 8606T....Turbo Tax please help!!!  Does anyone have the same problem with form 8606T? ???

[ga hiker]

I also have non-deductible IRA withdrawal tracking in TT (only for mine, not my spouse's). I left 4a and 4b the way TT did them -- 4a shows only our IRA distributions and 4b shows both IRA and pensions. My Form 8606 is fine. I have already filed electronically.