Massachusetts Short Term Capital Gains Miscalculated

[rvseiler]

My Massachusetts return reports twice the short-term gain the federal term shows.

On the MA Capital Gains/Losses Worksheet, page two, line 1 lists the short term gains and losses; the sum of these two is the net short term gain reported on my federal form, line 1a.

MA Capital Gains/Losses Worksheet, page two, line 1a lists the net short term gain reported on my federal form, line 1a.

How do I fix this?

[KathrynG3]

It depends. I recommend going back to your Massachusetts interview. If these capital gain amounts should  not be adjusted for Massachusetts**, then there should be no entry in Massachusetts. TurboTax will automatically carry the federal details to the state return.

If this is not the case, I recommend the following steps:

• removing the state,
  • Click on File>Remove a State
• checking for updates, and
  • From Online or Help depending on the level of your program, click Check for Updates

  • Manually update TurboTax for Windows Software (Basic, Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business)

• re-adding the state program before proceeding with your return.
  • Click the link for more details about troubleshooting the installation and consider re-downloading the state
    • Download TurboTax State (Windows)
    • Download TurboTax State (Mac)

**The additional information to determine if there are capital gain/loss differences identified by TurboTax is:

Capital gain/loss differences occur when you sell property which has a different adjusted basis on your federal return than on your Massachusetts return.
 Pre-1996 installment sales classified as ordinary income for Massachusetts purposes.
 Long-term capital gains or losses from transactions reported as installment sales for U.S. income tax purposes but not for Massachusetts.
 Gains from qualified small business stocks that were excluded on your federal return, but are taxed for Massachusetts.
 Massachusetts has adopted basis adjustment rules to take into account differences between Massachusetts and federal tax laws. For more information regarding basis adjustment rules, see TIR 88-7.
 Like-kind exchanges other than real property that is reported on the federal return but should be deferred for Massachusetts.

@rvseiler

[JB4797]

I am having this same issue. The amount that is transferred from short-term capital gains/(losses) from my federal Schedule D into my Massachusetts return is incorrect. There is no issue with the long-term amount, only the short-term amount. I called customer support and there appears to be a bug in the Turbo Tax software. When I looked through the worksheets, I can see that the software is double counting by including Line 1A column H in addition to the gross short-term loss amount, which results in Line 1A from schedule D being counted twice. When will this be fixed? Had I not caught the bug, it would have resulted in my MA return being filed incorrectly.

[KathrynG3]

I recommend trying the troubleshooting steps listed above to resolve this issue.

If you are still experiencing unexpected results, please call in to TurboTax - click the link for your call-in options - and tell them you were given this message from the TurboTax Employee Experts in Community for the Call Center Team:

• your program is not updating.
• This is a known issue.
• The solution is for the call center pro's to push you
  • first the federal software, and
  • then the state.
• Everything will work after the new download.

@JB4797

[rvseiler]

I was able to work around this on my own.

Thanks

[JB4797]

What was the work around @rvseiler? 

[rvseiler]

Went into Forms view and on Cap Gn/Lss Wks, page 2, manually set line 1a to zero.

Only take this approach if you're sure what you're doing.

[gkheyf]

Sorry, @KathrynG3 , how would I determine the answer to the first question about Massachusetts/federal basis differences?  I looked up TIR 88-7, and it seems to broadly suggest along the lines of "adjust for any differences between Massachusetts and federal law".  I calculate my federal basis using the info provided on my 1099-B and supplemental information.  If there were a difference, would it have been referenced in the forms, or do the forms only cover federal basis calculations?

In general, can you advise how to go about answering question 1 at the bottom of your post below?