Michigan Public Safety Officer Pension is being taxed - GLITCH??

[davidv2150]

I am experiencing the same issue. Indicating that my pension is from public safety employment but Turbo Tax changes it to indicate it is NOT from public safety employment. So frustrating!

[WILLNDTW]

FYI...I spoke to turbotax again.  Agent said not to file taxes until 13-Feb if using this form 4884 because it isn't ready yet.  I told her that I could have filed no problem, and there was no flag stopping me.  And mentioned that other people I know (you, and some other police colleagues) have already filed.  She didn't really seem to care much about this.  I'm trying to help Turbotax as there are going to be returns that are not correctly filed, but there doesn't seem to be any urgency regarding this topic.  I could have filed originally when it didn't exclude the pension income in my state taxes, and now I can file while it is showing both pensions excluded (when only one should be excluded).  Turbotax employees:  Don't you think this is a problem?  Customer service certainly doesn't seem to care about it.

[ritt1]

Can you use the free version to file these form ar do you have to pay for the premium package to file them.  I did not know this after I completed the free forms and noticed that my pension was being added into the taxable income.  After some questions to CPA about Mi PA4 I was informed to file MI 4884 form but was not able to find in it in the free package.  Thanks

[WILLNDTW]

I paid for the program as I had some other things that required it, but hoping that turbo tax can answer your question regarding if you need to use paid version to file form 4884.  Good luck....I'm hearing crickets from turbo tax regarding this topic.  Not going to use them any longer.  

[JamesG1]

Michigan Retirement Form 4884 is available in the Free Edition of TurboTax Online.  However, the form is subject to the delay discussed in the thread above.

@ritt1 

[WILLNDTW]

Ok, but the program is still letting you file, with this glitch.  Regardless of the form not available, you can go straight through and file without the program flagging your return.  It is still showing that my pension is exempt from Michigan taxes, and it is not.  This is a big problem that doesn’t appear to be getting addressed.  What if I filed like this, and then had to pay back the tax due with penalties and interest, because of turbo tax’s mistake?   Is turbo tax taking responsibility for this?   I’m not understanding the lack of urgency.

[novakd]

Thanks for the work-around!  I was getting so frustrated with the program since it wouldn't allow me to deduct my pension, but your suggestion saved the day.  Still hoping TurboTax updates whatever they need to do to get this to work properly.

[ritt1]

Did they resolve this issue?

[BetaTester]

No, it is still a bug that hasn't been fixed.  I guess I will change the ones that should not be excluded to N from G, print out the forms, white out the N, enter G and mail in the forms.  I think next year I'll just paper file.  No point wasting money on Turbotax.

[WILLNDTW]

I filed with the work around, but not what I expected from turbo tax at all.  And their lack of response and acknowledgement of the issue is turning me away from the program in the future.   

If Turbo tax is reading this:  How are you going to compensate those of us who spent hours trying to resolve this issue, with no help from you?  And then had to work around the program to make it function,  not even knowing if the State will accept these returns this way?   Not happy at all.

[SheriffJohn]

MI Public Act 4 allows qualified police and fire pensions to be fully deductible, as a subtraction from income, effective for the 2023 tax year, regardless of age. HR Block tax software and Thompson Reuters tax software are both having this same problem. The answer is to FIX the problem, not file an amended return later.

[SheriffJohn]

Also, the actual tax forms from the State of Michigan need to be corrected to specifically reflect MI Public Act 4's treatment of qualified police and fire pensions. Form 4884 (Pension Schedule Form) and Schedule 1 (Additions and Subtractions) both need to be updated.

[LindaS5247]

TurboTax has been updated to reflect these new changes to the Michigan pension tax deduction.

You should now see a screen like this when entering your information:

If you are using TurboTax for Windows or Mac, please run all updates to your TurboTax program before entering your information. If you are using TurboTax Online, the program has already been updated. 

Click here for the new changes to Michigan's pension deduction.