Does the federal tax due (in progress) include 401k deductions? or do they ownly show this at the end. Discrepancy w/ IRS w4 calc almost exactly matches this amount.

[VolvoGirl]

Your 401K contributions come out of your pay pre-tax and will be deducted from the wages in box 1 of your W2.  So you don't need to enter them or deduct them again.  Not really sure what you are asking.

[Anonymous]

turbotax doesn't seem to be making the deductions from my gross income when calculating my taxes owed - even though I have the deductions entered into turbotax in box 12.  When I use the IRS W4 calculator without my 401k deductions, the amount owned matches what turbotax says is owed.  I compared the W4 calculator line by line with what was entered into turbotax - the IRS W4 number also matches almost exactly when I just multiply out the tax brackets to my income.  This seems like too simple of a calculation for me to have made a mistake.

Update - this is definitely the case - i changed box 12d to 0 and my tax owed didn't change... What is going on?

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

Do you have your W2 already?  You first deduct the 401K from the wages in box 1.  The actual W2 you get will have the lower amount in box 1.  Box 12 wont affect your tax return. Don't try to enter your pay without the actual W2.  Your W2 usually doesn't match your paystubs.  There are several pre-tax deductions that affect the boxes.

[dmertz]

When your employer prepares your W-2, your employer reduces the amount that would otherwise be in box 1 by the amount in box 12 with code D.  The amount that you enter with code D into box 12 of TurboTax's W-2 form only potentially affects the amount you are eligible to receive as a Retirement Savings Contributions Credit.  Since you apparently do not qualify for this credit, changing the code D amount will properly have no effect on your tax return.

[Critter]

Can I use my last pay stub if I don't have my W-2 yet?

We can't guarantee your taxes will be accurate if you try to file without your W-2. There's important info on your W-2 that may not be on your final pay stub.

Your employer is required to send W-2s by January 31. If you haven't received your W-2 by February 14, we have some suggestions.

If it's still early, we applaud you for thinking about your taxes this early! You can use TurboTax to get a head start with the info you already know and get an estimate of your refund.

Related Information:

• What if it's February but I still don't have my W-2?
• Will I be able to import my W-2 before I get it in the mail?
• Is there a way to get an estimate of my 2017 refund?

The TurboTax online editions for tax year 2019 are scheduled to be available sometime today, 12/04, subject to change.

The IRS has NOT announced a  starting date for processing any of the  2019 tax returns  as of this posting.  
  
Although TurboTax will  allow you to e-filed some returns as early as 1/2   they are NOT sent to the IRS.  TurboTax stores those early filed returns  until the IRS opens for business and pulls the returns for processing ...   only then will you get an e-mail telling you if the return was accepted or rejected by the IRS.  

Only the simplest returns can be transmitted to TurboTax early.    Some forms will not be finalized until Jan 25 and some later than that.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1908854-forms-availability-table-for-turbotax-federal-products-exc...

Why does TurboTax allow early filing?  Because their competitors do - It is a marketing ploy to capture market share.

Filing early with TurboTax before the IRS opens  is a really BAD IDEA for many reasons...

1) If you discover something that is wrong on your return, receive a W-2 that is different, receive some other tax document that was not on the return that you filed then there is NOTHING that you can do about it other than wait to see if the IRS accepts or rejects the return after they open.  If rejected you can correct and file again, but if accepted then the only remedy is to amend which can take 4 months to process.

2) You must remember to check back after the IRS opens (or check for an e-mail) to confirm that the IRS has accepted or rejected the return.  If rejected, then it was never filed at all and must be corrected and re-filed.  Every year many taxpayers that file early, forget to check back and only discover months later that they never actually filed because if was rejected by the IRS but they had forgotten about checking back after filing with TurboTax.

3) While the IRS does conduct some pre-opening tests and does accept some returns early (ONLY for TESTING purposes), they will not actually  process those until after the official opening date.  There is a reason to test and that is to discover any problems with it's systems.  A couple of years ago a test went bad and several thousand "test" returns were lost.   The IRS was able to recover those but it delayed refunds for some by months.

There is no real advantage to file before the IRS opens  but there are several disadvantages to do so.

[Anonymous]

ohhh! thank you so much, that makes sense.

My taxes were pretty complicated this year, so I'm doing a dry run before i get w2s to make sure i don't need to make an estimated payment.

[VolvoGirl]

Don't forget to delete the "W2" you entered and enter the real W2 you will get.  Or completely clear your return and start over.