How is turbotax populating "PFL Income Received From Insurance Company" box in the California section? the populated number for me is over 200k that does not make sense

[TerryA]

If the Paid family leave box is checked on (I think) the second screen of the federal W-2 input, then TT/Calif assumes the entire Box 1 federal wages is PFL because that's how most VPDI providers do it. TT/Calif then shows you a screen where you can adjust that amount to the actual PFL for Calif purposes if the W-2 inconveniently mixes both regular wages and PFL wages together.

[BayArea1234567890]

Same here. Way to high. I think rather the AGI is displayed here for some reason. I used the automatic W2 import function. Anybody know if this is OK as is?

[Anonymous]

It depends on who paid you the PFL. If California it would have issue a 1099G. If your employer then it will be on your W-2  Under the W2 section you might have checked a box that said you received PFL benefits. It's a little misleading, because if you received a 1099G, then you did not receive PFL income on your W2 - in that case the W2 is only for wages from your employer, not the state

[beachedwhitemale]

Yeesh. Yeah, TurboTax did the same thing to me on this too. $0 of my PFL was paid for by an insurance company; not sure how the auto-import from my W2 made this to be exactly my salary. WAS HIGHLY DISAPPOINTING to have to go in there and change it to $0, while seeing a beautiful "$5000 Refund" at the top left of the screen the whole time I've been doing my refund. Not cool. 

Welp, there goes what I thought was a $5k refund alllllll the way down to $1k. ☹ Please, random internet strangers reading this, comment on this post to let me know I am not all alone in my sorrow. 

[MarilynG1]

Click this link for info on PFL in California that may help you. 

[najlamarie]

I totally feel ya. Was so confused by that too.

You shouldn't feel so bad though cause mine went from a 14k refund to a 4k tax due 👎

[Agwop88]

You’re not alone. 3k refund turned into 8k owed to the state :(

[DaveF1006]

Check where you entered this into the federal return to see if your entry is correct.

[tax_man]

I though I was getting $14,000 back. It drop to $3,000. What a disappointing feature turbotax should seriously fix this. Based on the comments it looks like it's been this way for several years. 

[antp]

Haha its even worse for me, from a refund of 1400 to repayment of 14,000 :( but thankfully this time I went through a CPA and her CA return and mine was too different and then I learnt turbo tax sucks if you have PFL. I am happy I went with the CPA if not may have got myself into unnecessary trouble of audit etc 

Didnt expect this from turbotax

[miguelatsd]

Noticed the same when reviewing state taxes, it had my w2 salary. Changed it to $0 since my company did not use an insurance to pay my salary, and I also received a 1099G that I had already entered while doing my Federal Taxes. 

[dt-ca-71]

It is 2025 and through out the entire process I thought I was getting a $12k refund, adjusted this box, and now I owe $2k. 

Closing in on a decade now and still not fixed!

[AmyC]

The tax laws changed in January 2025 and the IRS has determined PFL is taxable income. CA does not deem it taxable so it should be removed from CA. See how at Paid Family Leave | FTB.ca.gov. The program had to be changed to accommodate the new laws.

The IRS guidance states:

IR-2025-16, Jan. 15, 2025

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today issued guidance on the income and employment tax treatment of contributions and benefits paid in certain situations under a state paid family and medical leave program, as well as the related reporting requirements. Rev. Rul. 2025-4 provides guidance to the District of Columbia and states that have mandatory paid family and medical leave programs and for employees working in and employers operating in those states. Today’s guidance responds to requests to clarify the federal tax treatment of state paid leave programs that help pay employees who can’t work because of non-occupational injuries to themselves or family members, as well as sickness and disabilities.

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