TurboTax Premier 2021 HSA Deduction Limit Error in TurboTax

[Anonymous]

I downloaded & installed the 2021 TurboTax Premier under Windows 10 and see that the HSA deduction limit for a person over 50 is incorrectly at the $4,550 limit for 2020 and not the new $4,600 limit for 2021. The TurboTax version is [phone number removed] module WinPreRelease. Please report this error to IT / Support so it is fixed.

Thanks - Gary

[rjs]

The early releases of tax software for the new year are very preliminary and have a lot of rough edges. A lot of things aren't included yet, and a lot of things haven't been updated yet from the previous year. Things like inflation adjustments will be taken care of in updates over the next few months. The IRS has not even announced a date when filing 2021 tax returns will start, but it will be sometime in late January.

[Critter-3]

Although the downloaded program becomes available every year sometime in November with the online following sometime  in December  they are NOT fully operational programs ... they are only beta versions which will required many many updates before it is complete.  The final program and the state programs are never fully operational until late January at the earliest.  

http://taxpreparationsoftware.com/

ANY tax software released by any company prior to about January 15 is only released for marketing and market share.  No program is complete and ready to file until the IRS approves their final forms and then individually reviews each program's implementation of the form.  And some tax situations aren't able to be filed until February or March, again mostly due to IRS delays.

[karl404]

I stumbled onto this myself. I understand that this isn't the "final" version of the software, but this particular limit isn't a surprise change, and the correct number is in the text, its just not updated in the underlying formulae.

I was hoping to use the program for year-end tax planning. Its usefulness is limited when I can't enter in draft amounts for many income and deduction sources.

[Taxpayer35]

The correct 2021 HSA maximum contribution limits have been known for over a year at this point, despite the fanboy defenses of Intuit I read in the responses above. So no, this isn't an expected 'rough edge' for a 'beta product' that I just paid hard money for. This is a legitimate complaint about an error that shouldn't exist. Btw, the 2021 limits are also incorrect for the family plans.

[Critter-3]

The fact that you can buy the 2021 program before it is ready is because users demand the early program and the DIY companies are happy to lock you into their program even though it is not a fully functional program yet ... this happens every year and the program will be updated to the new tax year eventually.  

If you want to use the program for estimations then you should be using the fully functional 2020 downloaded version in the forms mode using the What If tool. 

When will my forms be ready?

Historically, IRS tax forms start becoming available in January, with a few stragglers (most notably Form 1040X) getting finalized in February.

State tax forms can become available for filing any time between December and late February, depending on the state and the tax form.

For specific forms and dates, refer to the Forms Availability Table for your TurboTax product, see the related information below.

Can I Still Work On My Return Before My Forms are Ready?

Yes, according to the following:

Federal Taxes
You can still work on your return and finish most of it. Once your forms become available, we’ll create the forms and include all of your info.

You’ll only be able to e-file or print your return once the forms are available.

While you’re working on your return, we’ll ask if you want to receive email updates when your forms become available.

State Taxes 
If your forms aren’t available, you’ll get a message asking you to return once they become available.

While you’re working on your return, you’ll have a chance to let us know you want to receive email updates when your forms become available.

[karl404]

Well put.

[drendel37]

OK