Where do I enter in Turbotax that I am not covered by employer sponsored retirement plan in TurboTax

[ThomasM · Accepted solution]

That's asked in the retirement contribution section, since the answer has an impact on the deductibility of Traditional IRA contributions.

You can get there by following this pathway:  Federal Taxes > Deductions & Credits > Retirement & Investments > Traditional and Roth IRA Contributions.

Follow the prompts, entering your contribution amount and responding to the various questions.  Then you'll come to the screen that says Retirement Plan Coverage? and you can give your answer. 

[sclearwater]

I found it Other Tax Situations > Retirement Savings > IRA Calculator tool

[GarysGirl]

There are 2 previous responses to this issue. I don't get the question or see the place to correct this. I am NOT part of an employer sponsored retirement plan and it keeps saying that I am. Help!

[DawnC]

It is probably marked on your W-2.   Even if you did not contribute, if you were eligible to participate in a plan, you are considered covered by an employer plan.  Look in Box 13 - if there is a checkmark on the Form and in TurboTax, then you are considered covered by a retirement plan.   If your employer mismarked that box, then you should request a corrected W-2 as the IRS has the same copy you do.   @GarysGirl

[GarysGirl]

I checked that. Box 13 is not checked. 

[Irene2805]

In addition to box 13 on your W-2, you can indicate that you were not covered by an employer retirement plan in the IRA contribution part of the interview.  To do this, please follow these steps:

1. Click on Federal Taxes > Deductions & Credits  [In TT Self-Employed:  Personal > Deductions & Credits > I'll choose what I work on].
2. Scroll down to the Retirement and Investments section and click on the Start/Revisit box next to Traditional and Roth IRA Contributions.  
3. On the Traditional IRA and Roth IRA screen, mark the box for Traditional IRA and click Continue. 
4. On the screen, Did you Contribute to a Traditional IRA?  click the Yes box. 
5. Click the appropriate box on Is This a Repayment of a Retirement Distribution?  
6. On the Tell Us How Much You Contributed screen, enter the amount of your contribution and click Continue. 
7. On the screen, Retirement Plan Coverage? click the No box.
8. Continue through the screens, entering the requested information.

[GarysGirl]

I don't get the question:  Retirement Plan Coverage? 

After I enter the amount and click Continue, I get: Tell us if you switched or "recharacterized" any of the $2000 traditional IRA contribution for 2020 over to a Roth IRA contribution? Yes or No

[MarilynG1]

@GarysGirl Think of IRA recharacterizations as a set of special rules allowing you to change your mind about the type of your current year IRA contribution.

So if you didn't change your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, you would say NO to this question. 

Click this link for more info on IRA Conversions, Recharacterizations, Rollovers. 

[GarysGirl]

I answered No. Then I get: Tell us if you contributed more money to your IRA than was allowed in 2019 or any previous year. I answered No. Then: Any Nondeductible contributions to your IRA? I answered No and Continue. Then it tells me that only part of my contribution is deductible since I am covered by an employer sponsored plan. But I am NOT.

[DaveF1006]

Check your W2 entry to see if you had checked that you were covered by a retirement plan at work. Also check the distribution code in Box 12 to see if there is a code D with an amount listed.

[GarysGirl]

YAAAY!!! Thank you! My W-2 doesn't have anything in box 13 but when it auto loaded, it checked box 13. I fixed it. Thank you so much!

[stuart13]

I am having the same problem trying to get TT to recognize that I am not covered by an employer retirement plan.  I am a  part time W-2 employee and I have a SEP associated with my sole proprietorship.  I don't get a screen asking if I am covered by an employer plan in the retirement section, I deleted my W-2 and removed my SEP contribution and I still get the message that my income is too high to contribute to a IRA while being covered by a retirement plan at work.  Thanks in advance for any insight you may have.

[SamS1]

It could be due to your spouse.  If you are married, you will need to check box 13 of your spouse's W-2 to determine if she is covered by a plan.  If she is and your AGI is over $206,000,  your income would be too high to gain any deductibility from an IRA contribution.

[macuser_22]

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@stuart13 wrote:

I am having the same problem trying to get TT to recognize that I am not covered by an employer retirement plan.  I am a  part time W-2 employee and I have a SEP associated with my sole proprietorship.  I don't get a screen asking if I am covered by an employer plan in the retirement section, I deleted my W-2 and removed my SEP contribution and I still get the message that my income is too high to contribute to a IRA while being covered by a retirement plan at work.  Thanks in advance for any insight you may have.

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A SEP *is* an employee retirement plan.    (Simplified Employee Pension Plan -SEP)