Why is turbotax asking me to enter the total value of all of my traditional IRA, SEP, and SIMPLE IRA Accounts as of end of tax year?

[DawnC]

Do you have any nondeductible contributions to those accounts?   TurboTax is probably asking for information needed for Form 8606 or to calculate how much of a retirement distribution is taxable.  

Any money you contribute to a traditional IRA that you do not deduct on your tax return is a “nondeductible contribution.”    No individual’s money is supposed to be subject to federal income tax twice.  Form 8606 gets it “on the record” that a portion of the money in your IRA has already been taxed.   Later on, when you take distributions, a portion of the money you get back will not be subject to income tax.   

Boosting Retirement

Nondeductible Contributions

[dmertz]

The only other reason that TurboTax might ask for your year-end balance in traditional IRAs is if your entries indicate that you have an excess traditional IRA contribution.  Your year-end balance is a factor in determining the penalty for the excess contribution.