529 educational investment plans ARE a valid deduction for Virginia state taxes. Where do I enter this information in Turbo Tax (it is WELL hidden!)?

[DawnC]

When you go through the VA return, you will come to a screen titled Here's the income that Virginia handles differently.   Scroll down to Education and click Start next to Commonwealth Savers (Section 529) Plan.  

Which Plans Qualify for the Deduction?   Virginia offers 529 Plans:

- Virginia Education Savings Trust (Invest529)
- Virginia Prepaid Education Program (Prepaid529)
- CollegeWealth (only through certain banks)
- CollegeAmerica (only through financial advisers)

[mrvark]

That is probably in the downloaded version. However, both of my computers are too old to use that version so I am being forced to use the online version (last year one of my computers was still supported and I was able to do what you suggest). I don't believe this feature is included in the online version. If it is, where is it hidden? 

[AmyC]

For the online version, Here's the income that Virginia handles differently is a little different. You want to locate the Education section and then select Commonwealth Savers (section  529) plan

[mrvark]

The on line version I have has "Your State Returns" (choices are General Info, Income, Credits & taxes, Other situations. To make a long story short, there is no page in the version I have like the one suggested. The credit & taxes screen  has a number of subheadings, but the only one that mentions education is under Other Credits (at the bottom) for Educational Improvement Scholarships Credit, but it has nothing to do with 529 donations. I think this category was inadvertently omitted in the software. I even looked into getting the download version I paid for, but both of my computers are so old that your software isn't compatible with them.

[AmyC]

Which online version are you using? I was in Premium for that screenshot.

[mrvark]

Deluxe apparently...what do I have to do to upgrade to premium?  What I originally signed up and paid for was TURBOTAX DESKTOP ADVANTAGE DELUXE TAX YEAR 2024 MAC DOWNLOAD, which included the 529 information (or at least did in the 2023 edition). Second question: once I upgrade to Premium, can the work I've already done be ported over, or do I have to start all over?

[mrvark]

Still NO ANSWER! The proposed solution would work fine if it existed in the ON LINE TurboTax Deluxe Edition, but it DOES NOT! This version DOES NOT include the ENTIRE VA tax code!!! Here are screen shots to show what it does include. The first shot shows the basic state menu. The next three show the "Credit & Taxes" screen. The final shot shows the "Other Situations" screen. The screen for what VA does differently DOES NOT EXIST in this version! (If it does it's extraordinarily well hidden.)

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

Edit the Income section seen in the screenshot you shared above.  Then scroll to the Education section, which is the fourth category down the page, and click Start beside Commonwealth Savers (section 529) Plan.

@mrvark