I am wondering why I am still being assessed the early withdrawal penalty of 10% for my 401k withdrawal, if that penalty is waived for a Covid-related distribution?

[rainman]

I believe I saw an answer to another question stating that withdrawals up to $100k would not be assessed the penalty if it was Covid related, but I don't see any option to declare that in TurboTax, so it's saying I owe an extra $3k or so in taxes. Am I misunderstanding the rule on this?

[DanaB27 · Accepted solution]

No, you are correct those who qualify as individuals directly impacted by the pandemic will be able to withdraw up to $100k from their retirement accounts without facing the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

But Form 8915 -E, that reports the Coronavirus-related relief  measures for retirement plan distributions, is not yet finalized by the IRS. TurboTax will update this section after the IRS releases the final version of Form 8915-E and then you can finish your distribution information.

Please follow these steps to enter your 1099-R:

1. Login to your TurboTax Account 
2. Click on the Search box on the top and type “1099-R”
3. Click on “Jump to 1099-R” and you should see the “Your 1099-R Entries” screen
4. Click "edit" and continue until "Tell us if any of these uncommon situations apply" screen
5. Select "I took out this money because of a qualified disaster (includes COVID-19)" (TurboTax will walk you through questions once this section is ready)

You qualify if:

• You, your spouse, or your dependent are diagnosed with COVID-19
• You experience adverse financial consequences as a result of being quarantined, furloughed, or laid off or having work hours reduced because of COVID-19
• You’re unable to work due to child care closure or hour reduction because of Covid-19
• You experience adverse financial consequences as a result of closing or reducing hours of a business that you own or operate due to SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19.

You can choose to have the distribution taxed over 2020, 2021, and 2022 instead of only in 2020. You’ll have three years to pay back the funds you withdrew, without the amount impacting that year’s cap on contributions. If you pay back the amount within that time, you’ll be able to claim a refund on those taxes paid when you file an amended tax return. Please see IRS Coronavirus-related relief for retirement plans and IRAs for more details.

[rainman]

Is there any indication as to how soon the IRS might release the updated form, so that I can go ahead and file my taxes? I don't know if that information is available somewhere or if it is just unknown at this point.

[cachetona20]

do you know how long it is going to be before the IRS will take to finalize the proper steps for this?

[macuser_22]

Only the IRS knows.

See below for a link to sign up for an email when the form is ready.

T

The draft paper form 8915-E is here:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f8915e--dft.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/i8915e--dft.pdf

Also to see if you qualify for a COVID-19 related distribution see:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/coronavirus-related-relief-for-retirement-plans-and-iras-questions-and-...

See this TurboTax FAQ to sign up for an e-mail when the form is ready.
https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/why-am-i-getting-getting-a-10-penalty-on-my-1099-r...

[SUBRINA629]

I followed directions and was able to select withdrawal due to covid, turbo tax said we do qualified for covid-19 exception but then it says "since i didn't use the money for a special situation that qualifies, i have to pay the 10% penalty amount. My Box 7 code was 1L, loan treated as distribution. But the reason was because i was not able to repay loan monthly was due to not being able to work during covid, no money. i don't understand. 

[macuser_22]

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@SUBRINA629 wrote:

I followed directions and was able to select withdrawal due to covid, turbo tax said we do qualified for covid-19 exception but then it says "since i didn't use the money for a special situation that qualifies, i have to pay the 10% penalty amount. My Box 7 code was 1L, loan treated as distribution. But the reason was because i was not able to repay loan monthly was due to not being able to work during covid, no money. i don't understand. 

---

Code "L" is a "deemed distribution" that  was taken by the plan administrator to pay off a loan and is not eligible for the CARES act repayment or spread of tax over 3 years.

IRS notice https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-20-50.pdf page 6

[bohdanwj]

Yet the form is finalized and in TurboTax, but the program says your still finalizing

[macuser_22]

It is finalized.  Are yiu using the desktop version?    The 8915-E was finalized 2/26,