topic TurboTax says "State tax shouldn't be greater than gross distribution" but it isn't. in Retirement tax questions

TurboTax says "State tax shouldn't be greater than gross distribution" but it isn't.

cliffoehme2 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:39:08 GMT

I am entering a 1099-R into TurboTax 2025 desktop version. When I get to Box 14, the program won't accept it and says "State tax shouldn't be greater than gross distribution". It is not greater than the gross, by a lot! In my case, the gross amount is exactly equal to the sum of the federal tax withheld and the state tax withheld.

How do I get around this error? BTW, I did go ahead and fill in Box 16 with the same value as Box 1, even though my 1099-R doesn't have a Box 16, but that did not help.

Re: TurboTax says "State tax shouldn't be greater than gross distribution" but it isn't.

MelindaS1 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:47:42 GMT

If any of the values on your 1099-R have decimal values (i.e. dollars and cents $00.00), have you tried rounding those up or down to the nearest whole dollar amount and typing them in as whole numbers (i.e. $0)? This could be the fix if the issue is in rounding.

The IRS does not accept anything other than whole numbers on the tax return, and the agency will be expecting the software to round off any decimal values regardless, so you can go ahead and try inputting the values from your 1099-R as rounded numbers yourself, to see if this works around the problems you're experience on the input screen.

If there is nothing in box 16, do not enter any values for that into the software.

Re: TurboTax says "State tax shouldn't be greater than gross distribution" but it isn't.

cliffoehme2 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 20:55:49 GMT

Thank you, rounding to the nearest whole dollar fixed it. But I can confirm its a TurboTax rounding error. Before I did the rounding I reduced the amount in Box 14 by one cent, and TurboTax was happy.

Re: TurboTax says "State tax shouldn't be greater than gross distribution" but it isn't.

ruckernyc — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:16:07 GMT

Make your state distribution the same as your gross distribution. Box 16 must equal Box 1