Virginia 529 account no where to enter

[djwill]

I am unable to navigate how to enter my contributions to my children's 529 accounts. The previous years advice does not apply because the screens have changed. Please advise. 

[LindaS5247]

These are reported under  "Less Common Income" when inputting your income into TurboTax. 

Do you have a Form 1099-Q?

Form 1099-Q comes from the administrator or bank that manages your 529 plan or Coverdell ESA. If you set up the account and make contributions to it, then you are the owner and are the recipient of the 1099-Q.

The 1099-Q provides three key pieces of information. Box 1 reports your annual distributions or withdrawals from the account. The second box reports the portion of the distribution that represents the income or earnings of your initial investment. Finally, box 3 reports your basis in the distribution. Essentially, this is the amount of your distribution that relates to the original contributions you made to the account.

If the distribution doesn’t exceed the amount of the student's qualifying expenses, then you don't have to report any of the distribution as income on your tax return. If the distribution exceeds these expenses, then you must report the earnings on the excess as "other income" on your tax return. When you pay a student’s school expenses with these funds, you can not claim a tuition deduction or either of the educational tax credits for the same expense.

These would be reported on your VA tax return under "Less Common Income". This will come up after you add all of your regular income into TurboTax. 

It looks like this:
 

Click here for information on Form 1099-Q.

Click here for more information on 529 Plans.

[djwill]

Thank you for the information! I suppose I should have been more clear, I'm looking to deduct my contribution from my taxable income, does the Commonwealth of VA allow for this? It seems like they do according to the 529VA website, but I can find no where to deduct my contribution on the tax forms. I appreciate your help in this matter!

[DawnC]

Yes, you can do that on the Virginia tax return.    As you are going through the state return, look for a screen that says Here's the income Virginia handles differently.   Scroll down to Education and you will see the first option in that section - VA 529 Plans.

Virginia offers 529 Plans:
- Virginia Education Savings Trust (Invest529)
- Virginia Prepaid Education Program (Prepaid529)
- CollegeWealth (only through certain banks)
- CollegeAmerica (only through financial advisers)

The owner of the account on record with the "Board" on 12/31 gets the deduction. An account can be owned by one or several people.

If the owner of the account is at least 70 years old this year, every dollar paid in a prior year that wasn't deductible in that year because of a maximum limit and every dollar paid this year is deductible. There is no limit.

If you're under 70 years old this year, you can deduct up to $4,000 for each account you own. This dollar limit applies to current year payments and prior year payments available for a deduction this year.

[djwill]

Thank you for your help, I know we can get to the bottom of this! It looks like where you are pointing me is only for distributions, and since I've only made contributions, I don't have any 1099 forms. When I try and input information into the location you mentioned, turbotax tells me that I don't have any tuition account refunds on my federal taxes, so I can't input information here.  I don't understand where I'm supposed to put my Virginia 529 contributions (my kids are little, I have not yet taken money out of their accounts, only putting money into it).  Thank you for your help in sending me to the right location! 

[AmyC]

Follow these steps:

1. Return to the education section
2. Select Sec 529, start
3. Yes, continue
4. Select 2023 contribution  (if you have a carry over from 2022, select it also) continue
5. Enter taxpayer or spouse, account number, select plan type, enter contributions, continue
6. If you and your spouse each contribute to an account, click the blue button to add another account

[djwill]

Thank you for the reply. I think your turbotax does not match the one that shows up on my computer.  I don't have that 529 section you reference, can only see four out of those five options under Education, and the one you are referring to is not one the options. Am I running an outdated form of turbotax? I don't understand how that can be since I am running it from the website. How do I get this updated version? Thank you for the help.

[AmyC]

I went to my online account, I am using Premium and see it here. If you are on desktop, select Online and Check for Updates from the little black bar across the top of the screen where File and Edit are. If you are using the online version, it should be there.