topic box 16 state dist - The system indicates an error because I left box 16 blank. Box 16 on my 1099R is blank as well. What amount should be entered in box 16? in Retirement tax questions

box 16 state dist - The system indicates an error because I left box 16 blank. Box 16 on my 1099R is blank as well. What amount should be entered in box 16?

kkjk4016 — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:21:40 GMT

Re: box 16 state dist - The system indicates an error because I left box 16 blank. Box 16 on my 1...

SabrinaD2 — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 03:27:10 GMT

If Box 16 (State Distribution) on your 1099-R form is blank but TurboTax is indicating an error, here's what you can do:

Check Boxes 14 and 15: If there are entries in Boxes 14 (State Tax Withheld) or 15 (State ID Number), TurboTax expects an amount in Box 16 (State distribution)
Leave it blank if no state tax was withheld: If Boxes 14 and 15 are blank, you can leave Box 16 blank as well - and this should remove error.

If there should be an amount in Box 16 and it's missing, you will need to request a corrected 1099-R form from the issue

Original Post

Re: box 16 state dist - The system indicates an error because I left box 16 blank. Box 16 on my 1...

Milo2020 — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 14:52:28 GMT

@SabrinaD2 Why does TurboTax expect an amount in Box 16 if the IRS or the state does not require that? Can we not expect to have the IRS or state tax departments to flag such a change and question why we changed the 1099?

Re: box 16 state dist - The system indicates an error because I left box 16 blank. Box 16 on my 1...

LeticiaF1 — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 21:19:17 GMT

Per IRS Instructions for Form 1099-R Boxes 14–19 are provided for your convenience only. They don't need to be completed for the IRS.

As SabrinaD2 mentioned, if you didn't have state withholding on Box 14, you can leave boxes 14–19 empty. If you do have withholding, then usually the state that you live in will tax the whole distribution. This would make box 16 the same as box 1.

@Milo2020

Re: box 16 state dist - The system indicates an error because I left box 16 blank. Box 16 on my 1...

Milo2020 — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 03:02:32 GMT

@LeticiaF1 You say “If you do have withholding, then usually the state that you live in will tax the whole distribution. This would make box 16 the same as box 1”. Why do you say “usually”? I come here for help and that isn’t a helpful answer. You still leave me guessing! And, if the IRS doesn’t care if the boxes have data, why does TurboTax choose to make an error out of an empty box? Yes, I have data in box 14 and no data in box 16 and a dead stop error from TurboTax for something that IRS doesn’t care about and no one can tell me why box 1 instead of box 2a should be input by me into box 16 when the payer that issued the 1099-R chose to put nothing in box 16. I’m just looking for an answer that makes sense in more than a “usually” way. But thanks for your response.