TurboTax confused about 2024 Roth IRA contribution limits

[_Kris_]

I started preparing the 2024 return, and entered $8,000 Roth IRA contribution.

TurboTax told me that this is $500 too high, and alleged that the limit is $7,500 for people over 50.

However, the info window that opened after clicking "Learn More" says that this limit is $8,000.

Definitely a bug.

[rjs]

The preliminary releases of tax software for the new year are basically a rough draft. A lot of things have not yet been updated for the new year. There will be many software updates over the next few months. The contribution limits will be corrected in an update. The IRS will not begin accepting 2024 tax returns until sometime in mid to late January.

[_Kris_]

Yes, I am aware of the pending updates.

However, as a software professional for many years, I am rather alarmed by the fact that the contribution limit is apparently stored independently in (at least) two different locations.

In properly designed software, there should be just one place where such values are defined!

[SteamTrain]

Those of us who have used TTX for many years...we are well aware that anyone buying the 2024 TTX software this early? ...they will get what is essentially a beta version, and that many limits, like this one, will use the prior year's limits, and don't get reset until closer to January...or sometimes into January.   But exactly which limits get updated to the proper values, and when they get reset to the 2024 values can occur during any one of the weekly software updates between now and January.   

Software updates usually come out on Wed or Thurs evenings, so check for software updates each Friday morning.

[_Kris_]

I've been using TT since before Intuit acquired Chipsoft and it was still called MacInTax, and am perfectly aware that it gets multiple updates before April 15 (and also after).

I would not bother raising the issue if the limits were reported consistently at the 2023 levels -- this would be an obvious beta issue and no big deal unless it persisted until March.

The fact that the limit is reported in one place at the 2023 value and in another at the 2024 value is a big red flag. This is not how properly designed software should work. The limit should be defined in one place and reused elsewhere. This is quite elementary!

[SteamTrain · Accepted solution]

Yep...we gripe about this obvious stuff too...but we can do nothing to fix the issue, other than complain....or go elsewhere (with no guarantee it will be a similar problem with other providers).

Of course, perhaps the Marketing department has release override authority, even if software folks want to stop these way-too-early releases.