Form 8936 line 5 filing status error

[monstera]

Form 8936 - Clean Vehicle Credits - line 5.

Enter your 2023 filing status (S, MFS, etc - see chart).

TurboTax automatically inserts number “2” as a value instead of inserting MFJ as a value.

I am on a software edition. Even in Forms view, I’m not able to fix this - it is again an issue with dropdown lists in TurboTax - it only allows to enter a number value. 
IRS however requires a value to be in a form of MFJ.

I believe my tax return would be rejected if I leave it unfixed.

please advise asap. 

[AnnetteB6]

The designation of using a number to represent the filing status on line 5 of Form 8936 will not cause your return to reject.  If that field were causing issues, then anyone filing a return with Form 8936 would have been rejected and TurboTax would have addressed the problem.  

The IRS Instructions for Form 8936 line 5 does not address exactly how that field should be entered.  The main point of it is to apply the correct limitation based on the previous year filing status.  As long as that is being done, the exact entry in line 5 will not matter.

[monstera]

Thank you.

IRS does state on the form itself for line 5 to enter an alphabetical value (S, MFS, etc).

Does TurboTax plan to fix this issue?

[monstera]

Can you please elaborate on “designation of using a number”.

Wouldn’t 2 be equal to MFS then, since MFS is in row 2 of the table for line 5?

or is there an IRS number designation for each filing status? Would you provide a reference link for it please 

[AnnetteB6]

The following screenshot from the TurboTax program shows how the numbers are defined with respect to which number represents which filing status:  

The IRS Instructions for Form 8936 do not specifically address line 5 and how it should be filled in.  

As long as the corresponding MAGI limits for the 2023 filing status are applied correctly in the subsequent sections of the form, then there is nothing for TurboTax to fix.  

If the limits are not being applied correctly based on the numeric entry to represent the filing status, then that would be a problem that would need to be addressed.

@monstera 

[jchap]

Sorry, but I don't agree with AnnetteB6 on a couple of points:

1. Although the IRS instructions for Form 8936 do not "specifically address line 5", on line 5, the form itself states:

    "Enter your 2023 filing status (S, MFS, etc., see chart below)."

The numerical entries provided by Turbotax have no correlation with the entries on the form, so they are not correct.

2. I have spent substantial time trying to figure out what to do with these entries (can they be edited manually, do I need to submit paper forms instead of filing online, etc.). Therefore, I strongly disagree with your statement that "..there is nothing for TurboTax to fix."

[user17716327818]

The same is still in place for TurboTax 2025 Desktop and seems to be definitely wrong.

The IRS form clearly states to enter the abbreviation (S, MFS, etc.) in the Line 5 input field.

At the same time, TurboTax Desktop continues to enter digits, requiring manual correction in the PDF printout.

[AnnetteB6]

Every form submitted electronically by TurboTax has been tested and approved by the IRS.  If there was an issue with the way TurboTax completes the entry for Form 8936 line 5, then the tax return would be rejected by the IRS.  

If your tax return is not being rejected, then the IRS processing system understands and accepts the entry put on the form by TurboTax.  There is nothing that needs to be corrected by you.

@user17716327818 

[BadgerPDX]

@AnnetteB6 says:

> If your tax return is not being rejected, then the IRS processing system

> understands and accepts the entry put on the form by TurboTax.

Do you have evidence that 2=Married Filing Jointly (as is shown when I click on the "2" that is shown by TT) is correctly interpreted by the IRS as MFJ? Since the table to the left on the form has MFJ on Line 4 of the table, the TT setting for "2" as MFJ certainly looks wrong. 

I agree with you that the IRS is not rejecting the returns - whatever TT is putting on Line 5 is not causing an error for the IRS - but I believe if they interpret "2" as the second line of the table (MFS), the credit could be disallowed (at a later time, when examined closer by the IRS) since the MAGI limits for MFS are half of the MFJ limits.

By not fixing this, Intuit is causing unnecessary stress for your users. I don't see why this is seen as a difficult item to mark for fixing, rather than causing this stress - and potentially opening us to losing this tax credit or being audited. Instead I see a defensive stance of "it's fine - trust us", when the IRS Form instructions and the TT filled-in value is clearly not in sync and your users are clearly stating this is causing unnecessary stress and uncertainty.