I found an error in the WI state tax software concerning entering contributions to Edvest - WI 529 plan.
WI allows a deduction of up to $3340 per beneficiary for deductions to the 529 plan. When you enter your contribution amount in the software it is supposed to accurately deduct it from your WI income. The figure is transferred to Schedule CS in part 1. Then line 3 is supposed to show $3340 and compare it to your contribution and deduct the smaller of the two however it does not. It seems to put in $3000 so if you contributed more than that you would lose out on part of the deduction.
You can correct it manually by opening Schedule CS but the program should do that automatically.
I-have reported this to TT and hopefully it will be fixed but wanted to give a heads up if anyone has this happen to them.
TurboTax accurately computes the $3,340 deduction limit.
If you are a Wisconsin taxpayer, your contributions to Edvest may be deducted from state taxable income up to a maximum of $3,340 per beneficiary ($1,670 for married filing separate status and for divorced parents of a beneficiary) for the 2020 tax year ($3,380 per beneficiary, and $1,690 per beneficiary for married filing separate status and for divorced parents of a beneficiary for the 2021 tax year).
You do not have to be related to the beneficiary and remember, this tax benefit is per beneficiary so if you’re contributing to accounts for multiple children or grandchildren, you can potentially reduce your Wisconsin taxable income even more. The state tax deadline is April 15 of the following year.
Refer to FAQ: Edvest College Savings Plan
TurboTax has a 100% Accurate Calculation Guarantee. If you pay an IRS or state penalty or interest because of a TurboTax calculation error, we'll pay you the penalty and interest.
I beg to differ with you - it did not compute my tax accurately because it did not put $3340 on line 3. It should be a simple calculation and this field should either be populated with $3340 or $1670 for a divorced parent. Those are the only two figures that should be on that line.
In my case it did not show $3340 but $3000 for some reason and so it took the lower if those two and only deducted $3000 instead of $3340.
i shared my screen with TT tech support and demonstrated that as I put different numbers in the contribution amount the same error would occur - $3340 would not show up on line 3.
i tried restarting the program and that did not help. The tech support agent agreed that there is a problem.
I had the same issue with my Schedule CS. How did you manage to change it manually?
Open the schedule CS and you can manually enter the correct amount on line 3 and then it will figure the rest correctly
Thank you very much for the reply! I couldn't get an answer from TurboTax online or over the phone so I appreciate your help. One more question - I'm using TurboTax Online which does not appear to allow me to open up the Schedule CS and edit it. Are you using the downloaded/CD version? Thanks again.
Yes I am using the downloaded program and I’m not familiar with the online version. I would think there would be a way to open a form.
Is there a help menu where you can search for ‘Open a form’?
I am using the downloaded version and am it familiar with the online version but I would think they should have the same features.
Is there a help menu where you could search for “Open a form”? Maybe someone on the forum can advise how to do it on the online version
Thank you again for the help. I was able to speak to TurboTax customer service and they allowed me to switch to the desktop version where I'm able to fix the form directly. Thanks!
We are having the same problem in the desktop Premier version and although it does give us the correct tax credit, we shouldn't be entering an amount in line 3, because we are married and filing jointly.
Any other suggestions?
Note, it was working as we were entering amounts for different grandchildren but then stopped. Now it has no effect when I take the amounts out in Schedule CS or put them back in.
Follow-up:
When I deleted all of the entries for the grandkids and reentered them, it fixed the problem, but looking at the CS form, it has an amount in line 3 and that doesn't seem correct, since we are NOT married filing separate or a divorced parent?
This issue was present in the 2020 desktop version of TurboTax Deluxe, and I believe the same problem is present in the 2021 desktop version of TurboTax Deluxe.
I caught the error in the 2020 version AFTER I had already filed my 2020 Wisconsin return; however, I was able to file and amended return and recover the additional refund due to me.
I am having the same problem with carry forward contributions to Edvest. I have carry forward Edvest deductions for two grandchildren but am getting no deduction due to this error with TurboTax. The software keeps my current eligible deduction as a carryford again into NEXT year (instead of giving me the credit due this year). I spent 2 HOURS on the phone with TurboTax with NO resolution (although they saw the error and were professional and polite and had a team working on it while I was on hold). I did receive a call back the next day and was told there is a "glitch" in the system and to give it 2-3 business days and the problem would be fixed. I gave it 5 days and the issue is still not resolved. I do not have it in me to spend more time on the phone with them. It is a known issue with them and they are not fixing it.
I just took another person's advice and I deleted the grandchildren Edvest information totally and then reentered it. The first time had no effect, but when I deleted it a second time and reentered the Edvest information again, it calculated correctly! I have no idea why reentering the information corrects this major error, but maybe it is a solution for others.
TurboTax PLEASE correct this problem for 2022 taxes.
My 2020 Edvest carryforward is not being carried forward into 2021. How do you edit Schedule CS manually on the desktop version?
From the main screen, select "View", then "Forms". In the panel on the left, scroll down under you get to the CS form(s) under the State of Wisconsin. Select the CS form you want and you can make manual entries in the right panel.
Thanks. Found the form. I am able to make some manual entries on schedule CS but not on all the lines necessary. Line 37a is populated with a 0 that I cannot change. Any suggestions?
Line 37a on form CS is for helping to create the carryover from 2021, this tax year, to next year. For the amount from last year, it goes on line 34, carryover. It has a plus button where you can add the carryover information. However, entering information in the forms mode is not how the program is designed. Instead:
This should show on line 34.
I used the online version and was not able to manually change any numbers. I completely deleted the Edvest information and Turbo Tax then listed the carry forward correctly after I reentered the Edvest information. Just deleting the Edvest carry forward numbers did nothing. I had to delete the grandchildrens name…. all of the info and renter it all. That did the trick.
That did not work for me using the online version of Turbo tax. I tried that multiple times with no success. Instead of edit the college info, I deleted it. Things calculated correctly after I then reentered it. I spent hours (calling turbo tax as well as online trial and error) to get this listed correctly on my taxes. Very frustrating.