California State: I did not take PFL last year, what should I fill for "PFL Income Received From Insurance Company"

[karthikus]

I took FMLA last year for 2 weeks (paid for by the employer). I have CAS DI listed on W2 (it was listed last year's W2 also and I did not take PFL / FMLA last year. So maybe it's my contribution ?). The wages on Box 1 are the same as the wages on Box 16. Also, I did not receive 1099-G as I did not take PFL.

When I get to the State section in Turbo Tax, I see "Paid Family Leave (PFL) Income in California" and I see "We've noticed you've reported receiving PFL income on a W-2. California doesn't tax PFL income that was paid by your employer's insurance company." and PFL Income Received From Insurance Company as "x" which I do not see in my w2 and I have not idea on how TT arrived at that number.

Should I leave the number as it is? How did TT determine that PFL income is reported on W2?

[MaryK4]

Check the entry for the W2- After you enter the W2, on the "Let's check for uncommon situations", there is a box for Paid Family Leave (see below).  If it was just FMLA, you should not subtract it from California income as paid family leave.  

The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

[karthikus]

Hi, @MaryK4  Thanks for your quick response. I selected "None of these apply to me" for "
Let's check for uncommon situations" section but I still see "We've noticed you've reported receiving PFL income on a W-2. California doesn't tax PFL income that was paid by your employer's insurance company." message. I do not understand why TT determined I have reported PFL income on W2. 

Since I did not take any PFL, should I just put "PFL Income Received From Insurance Company" as 0? Since I did not take any PFL, this is very confusing and misleading. 

[MaryK4]

Yes, You should enter 0 since you do not want to underreport the income.  

If I find any other situations like this, I will tag you.

@karthikus

[karthikus]

Hi @MaryK4 thanks for you quick response. But I still don’t understand how TT decided that there is PFL payment in my w2 and why it auto populated “some number”.  With things like these, I am not confident if I am submitting the right information in my tax forms. 

[MaryK4]

I was going to ask for a diagnostic file so I could check this for you-

It would be helpful to have a TurboTax ".tax2020" file that is experiencing this issue. You can send us a “diagnostic” file that has your “numbers” but not your personal information. If you would like to do this, here are the instructions: Go to the black panel on the left side of your program and select Tax Tools. 

1. Then select Tools below Tax Tools. 
2. A window will pop up which says Tools Center.  
3. On this screen, select Share my file with Agent. 
4. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is. Click okay through this screen and then you will get a Token number. 
5. Reply to this thread with your Token number. This will allow us to open a copy of your return without seeing any personal information.  

We will then be able to see exactly what you are seeing and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return and provide you with a resolution.  Thanks!

@karthikus

[karthikus]

@MaryK4 Token number : 766347 

[MaryK4]

Thanks I'll check it out and let you know @karthikus

[karthikus]

@MaryK4 Any luck with finding the issue? 

[MaryK4]

The second W2 was imported, and the box for Paid Family Leave (see below).  This is what prompted the question in the state section. You corrected the amount to zero. We do not have the import information to check but occasionally there is an error.

@karthikus