Box 2A of 2016 Form CSA 1099R, shows "Unknown". I retired on Fed Civil Serv. Disability from SSA over 20 yrs ago. No idea when adj to be made.

[marcellehigg]

Box 2A of 2016 Form CSA 1099R, shows "Unknown". I retired on Fed Civil Serv. Disability from SSA over 20 yrs ago. No idea when adj to be made. Please help.

[marcellehigg]

I followed instructions provided by "ANSWER" below... and tax return now shows I should receive total amount of taxes withheld in 2016 as a refund... I'm afraid there might be some kind of error on my part?

Is it likely/possible my refund is because of my age (will be 65 on 05/28/2017) and because I have been on Federal Social Security Disability Retirement for over 20 years?

A review or response would be greatly appreciated... I can't afford to make an error.

Many thanks for your assistance.

[MargaretL]

No... it is very possible that you may get your entire tax withheld back, not only because your age, but because your taxable income is so low that, after our exemption deduction and standard deduction,it is not necessary to pay tax - your taxable income may be zero... I recommend that your preview your Form 1040 - you can do so before paying for the program. The form will show you your taxable income after your deductions and any credits and finally your tax paid vs. tax your should have paid...
1. From My account drop down, select Tools ( you must be logged into your tax return)
2. Select View Tax Summary
3. Select Preview my 1040

[marcellehigg]

Thank you so much for your reply... I'll go now and do as you suggested. Best wishes, and thanks so much for the service you provide.

[MargaretL]

My pleasure and thank you for your appreciation!

[MargaretL · Accepted solution]

Please leave the 2a field blank when entering the form into the program; TurboTax will help you determine the taxable amount based on the additional information from your form (such as box 9b). You do need to know when you took your first check/payment - that is called annuity start date.

Please be sure to enter OPM 1099-R as CSA 1099-R and not as a regular 1099-R. The program will guide you through questions on OPM taxability.

1. Federal Taxes

2. Wages & Income

3. Scroll down and select IRA, 401(k), Pension Plans. On the screen Tell Us Which 1099-R you Have please be sure to select  CSA-1099-R Civil Service Annuity. Select Continue and you will see automatically filled in information on OPM. Select Continue again and you will see Enter Annuity Information screen. You will be prompted to data entry and additional questions about your annuity. Please be sure to enter all information – including your contributions- exactly as it appears on the form. This will ensure proper calculation of the taxable amount.

[dconellion]

I am doing taxes for a friend.  She has CSA 1099R as a disability retirement.  Taxable amount is UNKNOWN. There is amount in Box 9b.  I asked her to inquire from previous preparer as to the tax free amount previously recovered.  She was told to subtract Box 1 from Box 9b.  How can I calculate this number if the preparer won't provide it?

[BillM223]

If Box 2a says "Unknown", this means that the payer does not know the amount of the former employee's "contribution" or "basis" in the plan, that is the amount of after-tax dollars that the taxpayer contributed to the plan while working.

"She was told to subtract Box 1 from Box 9b." - this is obviously wrong unless the amount in Box 1 consisted totally of return of contribution or basis, which is very unlikely.

As the Learn More link for that line "Tax-free Amount previously recovered" says, you will need to dig up all the previous returns. The amount recovered each year should be the difference between the Box 1 amount and the actual taxable amount included in the 1040. Note that the IRS has changed the layout of the line for pension distributions several times in the last several year. Even worse, the IRS in 2018 lumped all the IRA distributions and the pension distributions into the same line, making identifying just the taxable part of one pensions distribution potentially difficult.

From what you are describing, it's possible that the previous preparer didn't account for the return of contribution (and didn't want to admit it) - you will be able to tell that when you compare the distribution amount with the taxable amount for 2018.

Another alternative which may or may not be correct would be for you to manually apply the Simplified Method calculations to the plan based on the annual contributions, the plan start date, the employee contribution, and so on. 

This will tell you what should have happened each year in terms of the return of contribution. Then use the number of the return of contributions up through 2018 on that TurboTax screen. Of course, if there were one or more years in which the return of contribution was not actually accounted for on the return, then this number will be wrong, but it will give you some information that may be helpful.

For information on the Simplified Method and how to calculate it, please see IRS Tax Topic 411.

If you have the CD/download version of the TurboTax software, please look at the Form 1099-R (name of payer) - this worksheet will have the calculations of the Simplified Method on it (towards the bottom).

[dconellion]

To manually apply the Simplified Method Calculations, you mean apply the calculated amount on line 10 of the worksheet to all the years of the disability being received?

[dconellion]

She started receiving the pension when she was 48 yrs old and is now 71 for the end of the 2019 tax year.

[macuser_22]

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@dconellion wrote:

She started receiving the pension when she was 48 yrs old and is now 71 for the end of the 2019 tax year.

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"She"must use the same method that was used in prior years.   How was it done in 2018 and previous years?   If the simple method then use the 2018 simplified method worksheet for the needed information.

[Happy13]

Hi, I am trying to make a correction on my tax return. I am a former government civil service retiree annuity, I have a CS a 1099 – R, this is where I need to make a change the box is highlighted but it will not let me make any changes

[WendyN2]

If the system is stuck and will not let you make any changes, go to the end of that section and delete this item out completely. Unfortunately, this is the only way to correct the error previously made in the system. Once you delete this out the return will be "clean" and ready for you to enter the information correctly. I hope this helps. 

[green594]

MargaretL- i was hoping you could provide a follow up to this answer.  I am concerned with the Turbo Tax the Turbo Tax interface questioning regarding my OPM disability retirement form.

As a disabled retiree under the stated minimum retirement age (MRA) of 57 and 10 months, I believe that I fall under part III of IRS publication 721. Which states: "you mush report all your disability  annuity payments received before minimum retirement age on Form 1040 ... Line 1(page 19)." The Publication also stated on page 18 that the payments are treated as "wages" until i meet the MRA.  

The issue that i am having  by leaving box 2a blank, answering the questions and using the simplified method;  i am paying "no tax" on me annuity, this does not seem logical.  Moreover if the distributions are treated as wages i should not have to complete the simplified method until i meet my MRA. am i using Turbo Tax incorrectly?   

Any input would be wonderful.

V/r

Green

[green594]

MargaretL- thank you- i found the answer, i could not figure out how to change form a 1099R to a CSA 1099r like you suggested.  Each time i reviewed the material it did not give me an option.  I took care of it in the "forms view."

Thanks again

Green