Where can I enter my information about being a retired public safety officer? I'm trying to enter the $3000 health insurance tax break.

[DianeW777]

Retired public safety officers may be able to exclude $3,000 from their taxes each year for health and long-term care insurance premiums. You must be an eligible public safety officer and have your premiums deducted from your monthly retirement payments.

First search (upper right) 1099r, then use the Jump to... link to access the screen where you entered your 1099R.  Click Continue on this screen. There are two locations during your entry for your Form 1099R that is from your service as a Police Officer. 

1. You must tell TurboTax 'This money was from being a public safety officer' by checking the box on the page 'Do any of these situations apply to you?'
2. Then you must continue through the screens until you reach the one titled 'These Situations May Lower Your Tax Bill'.  Here you must enter the amount of your taxable distributions from your 1099R in the space beside 'Separation From Service the Year During or After Age 55 (Age 50, If a Public Safety Employee)'.
3. See the image below.

Once this is completed you will have a message 'Good News: Your tax bill just got lower' you can continue to complete your tax return without penalty.

[darrelltrawick]

I'm not new to TurboTax and your instructions are what I expected to find in the program like it was last year.  But in my Turbo tax Premier version this year, it's not happening. 

After asking was money taken out for being a public safety officer, I never get to the "These situations may lower your tax bill."

One click - Yes money taken out for health insurance. Two click - How much? Three click - Did I do a rollover or conversion? Four click - A few questions? Five click - Payments? Six click - Start year 2020 or prior. Seven click - Taxable amount. Eight click done.  So I don't really know if I got the deduction or not.

[DaveF1006]

It depends. If your 1099R is an IRA distribution, this section illustrated by awesome agent DianeW777 will never appear on your screen. On a regular pension, this will appear as a follow-up question after you enter your 1099R.

Check your 1099R entry and make sure their isn't a checkmark in the IRA/SIMPLE/SEP box is checked if this is not an IRA. If it is an IRA, you are not eligible for this deduction.

@darrelltrawick

[8055595440]

I check "Yes" in the box that I am a retired Public Safety Officer and the software keeps changing it back to "No"?

[AmyC]

There is a difference between what the program does and what it asks. You should go through the section one time, look at your forms and see they are correct. You will see taxable pension on line 5b on your 1040. If the insurance premiums are not included in the taxable income, it is right.

Because this is such an important question, the program will ask each time you go through the section. Please look and see if your forms are correct and then don't continue to revisit the section once completed. 

2022 Publication 575 - IRS:

You can exclude from income the smaller of the amount of the insurance premiums or $3,000. You can only make this election for amounts that would otherwise be included in your income.

@8055595440