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Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

I made a repayment for several years of over payments on an annuity I receive. I have read through all the instructions on determining whether to take the credit or the deduction, but all of them seem to apply for over payments that occur within a single year. Mine is for part of 2014, all of 2015-2016, and part of 2017 and was a substantial amount of money. It seems like it may be more trouble than it's worth to go back and figure the total credit to compare the results with taking a simple deduction. Is there a general rule that applies to which cases result in a substantial difference in the results? I'm not sure I can even figure out how much of the repayment was for each of the individual years.

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Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

 

Repayment over $3,000.    If the amount you repaid was more than $3,000, you can recover the tax you originally paid using one of two methods. You can do it as a deduction on schedule A or a tax credit on line 73 of the 1040 form if when youincluded the income in a previous year, it appeared that you had an unrestricted right to it.

Figure your tax under both methods and compare the results. Use the method (deduction or credit) that results in less tax.

Method 1.    Claiming a deduction for the repaid amount. You deduct it as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A  line 28.

This is the flow in TurboTax: 
Federal taxes > Deductions & credits > I'll choose what I work on > Other deductions and credits > Other deductible expense>Go thru to third screen> answer YES to "Did you have any other deductions that are not subject to the 2% limitation?"
Enter the amount you repaid under, "Claim of Right Repayment (Only if over $3,000).

Method 2.    Figure your tax claiming a credit for the repaid amount. Follow these steps.

1.      Figure your tax without deducting the repaid amount.

2.      Refigure your tax from the earlier year without including the income that you had to repaid.

3.      Subtract the tax calculated  in (2) from the tax shown on your return for the earlier year. This is the credit.

 This is the flow in TurboTax (This can only be done in the Forms mode of the Desktop version of TurboTax)

Go to FORMS (top right of main screen) > Form 1040 > Scroll below line 72 to "Other Payments and Credits Smart worksheet"
Please enter the credit o line D. 
This credit should show up on Form 1040 line 73
I've included a link to the IRS website for your reference:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p525/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000229605

View solution in original post

7 Replies

Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

 

Repayment over $3,000.    If the amount you repaid was more than $3,000, you can recover the tax you originally paid using one of two methods. You can do it as a deduction on schedule A or a tax credit on line 73 of the 1040 form if when youincluded the income in a previous year, it appeared that you had an unrestricted right to it.

Figure your tax under both methods and compare the results. Use the method (deduction or credit) that results in less tax.

Method 1.    Claiming a deduction for the repaid amount. You deduct it as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A  line 28.

This is the flow in TurboTax: 
Federal taxes > Deductions & credits > I'll choose what I work on > Other deductions and credits > Other deductible expense>Go thru to third screen> answer YES to "Did you have any other deductions that are not subject to the 2% limitation?"
Enter the amount you repaid under, "Claim of Right Repayment (Only if over $3,000).

Method 2.    Figure your tax claiming a credit for the repaid amount. Follow these steps.

1.      Figure your tax without deducting the repaid amount.

2.      Refigure your tax from the earlier year without including the income that you had to repaid.

3.      Subtract the tax calculated  in (2) from the tax shown on your return for the earlier year. This is the credit.

 This is the flow in TurboTax (This can only be done in the Forms mode of the Desktop version of TurboTax)

Go to FORMS (top right of main screen) > Form 1040 > Scroll below line 72 to "Other Payments and Credits Smart worksheet"
Please enter the credit o line D. 
This credit should show up on Form 1040 line 73
I've included a link to the IRS website for your reference:
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p525/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000229605

Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

Yes, I know how to do it but it's Item 2 on Method 2 that has me questioning. Do I figure out how much of the repayment applied to each of the four years and add them together and figure the difference in tax for the four years? The instructions reference only a single year.

Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

repeat the instructions for each tax year and add them together

Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

Thanks. Going to be tedious since the over payment varied over the months, but at least I know how to do it. Appreciate the response.

Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

One more follow up question: I've recalculated the tax for prior years but I'm not quite sure how to handle 2017. The 1099 indicates the repayment, but the gross annuity shown reflects the annuity total prior to the repayment for the first two months of 2017. Do I go through the calculation the same way?

Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

Yes.

Credit vs. deduction for repayment over $3000 that spans several years

Thanks!! Much appreciated.
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