MA circut breaker credit

[biker chuck]

there is an error in turbo taxes' software regarding this subject. somehow everyone's income is over stated for the calculation

[AmyC]

Please take a look at the instructions for how to calculate your CB income. Mass adds in gifts, food stamps, disability, Social Security, sick pay, all sorts of income! 

If the program is not calculating correctly, please let us know. There are no known issues at this time and I was able to create a return that gives a credit.

[charles 52149]

I printed form CB & worksheet and was able to obtain a credit of $1200. MA qualifying income of $58323. I added back income not taxed in MA, e.g. SS & US govt obligations in the dividends. I do not understand why Turbo tax did not do the same.  

[AmyC]

The program has no way of knowing about food stamps and things not entered in the program. It will add your nontaxable pension, annuity, IRA and KEOGH distributions. The rest is up to the user. That is why this box for miscellaneous income exists in the circuit breaker questions.

@charles 52149 

[biker chuck]

then why has turbo tax stated the income exceeds $64000, when it is only $59000?

[biker chuck]

the program is not calculating correctly. I printed the form and entered everything correctly & qualified for a $1200 credit. Turbo tax said the income exceeded $64000, when it is $59000.  

[DaveF1006]

It depends. You may have missed some income that is a part of your Adjusted Gross income (AGI). This may include things like. 

•  Income from social security
• Retirement
• Pension or annuities
• Cash public assistance
• Tax-exempt interest and dividends
• Short-term and long-term capital losses
• Certain capital gains
• Income from a partnership or trust not otherwise included in your Massachusetts AGI
• Gifts
• Returns of capital reported on Schedule C

To check your AGI and if using Turbo Tax online go to tax tools>tools>view tax summary. Look to see what the AGI listed is in the Adjusted Gross income section of your return. if you are using the software, look at line 11 of your 1040 to determine AGI.

In most cases, your AGI for both Massachusetts and the Federal government is the same. There may be some exceptions where some income is excluded from Mass but included in the federal income.  Without seeing your return, I cannot comment if this pertains to you or not.