2021 Form 1116 Schedule B (carryovers) can't efile

[Sonnyof42]

@turcog @LarryDean I filed one return from a desktop PC before the update, creating an attachment subfolder with the Form1116ScheduleB, and I fled a return for another person on March 12th after the update without doing this and both worked fine.  Both returns were accepted by the IRS within a half-hour or less, and I've confirmed both returns were received.  So my experience is that TurboTax takes care of Form 1116, Schedule B automatically now and you don't need to do anything separately.

[Debbie412]

Thanks to all of you for your comments.  I  have been following this thread since I had the same problem, but due to other delays have not tried to e-file yet.  Now I see on another thread that his will be available on 3/18.  I must say this surprised me.  I thought it was available on 3/12 per previous TurboTax comments and all of your comments.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/form-1116-schedule-b/00/2547748/page/4

Bottom comment below:

SForrestLO

Employee TurboTax Specialist

yesterday

Our TurboTax Development Team has been working non-stop to support e-file for IRS Form 1116 Sch B. We’re happy to share that the functionality is currently available in our Online Product. Desktop functionality should be ready by Saturday 3/18/22. Look out for a new engine update and you should be able to efile!

[fa123]

@JES33Here is my update.  My issues have not been resolved yet. 

1- As expected, I received an email from TT informing me that the return that I e-filed the second time has also been rejected.  Again, as above, the email instructs me to go to the TT program and by clicking on Check E-file status, fetch the IRS rejection record so that the program can guide me to fix what has been flagged as objectionable by the IRS in my return.

2- I do exactly as instructed, and the program still claims that I have not e-filed my return!  This is exactly where I was two days ago, and following the instructions of tech support, ended up e-filing my rejected return for the second time!

It just seems next to impossible to convince these tech support people that there is an obvious bug in the TT Delux software! They see and verify that I have indeed e-filed my return; they see and verify that my return has been received by the IRS; they see that the IRS has rejected my return (for whatever reason, but see further below for the reason); and they see (via screen share) that in spite of all these verified facts, the program claims that I have not e-filed my return.

3- I spend 4 hours talking to 4 different tech support people, two totally useless, aggravating wastes-of-time, and two who at least had enough skills to listen and digest what I said and what they saw.  The third person I talked to today, suggested that I should uninstall TT, restart my PC, and then re-install TT, just to make sure that all program cache had been cleared.  She said she had seen this remedy for some other similar issue, and proposed that it may work.

4- After uninstalling TT, restarting my PC, and installing TT again, it went through all its updates.  I opened my return and got the same false claim as before.  So, none of this worked.

5- I called tech support again.  20 minutes later, I got to talk to another rep who listened and understood, and said that this is clearly not my issue or an issue with the contents of my return, but a technical software problem.  Hallelujah!  Someone recognized the software bug glaring in their face: Regardless of what is or is not in my return, regardless of why the IRS has rejected my return, the fact that the same program that has successfully e-filed my return (twice) still claims that I have not e-filed my return, obviously has a bug!

6- This guy went and checked some stuff.  He came back and said there seems to be a similar issue reported already and it looks like an update is about to be issued in a day or two.  But, he said that he is not sure if what has been reported is exactly the same as my problem.  To be sure, he said he must have me talk to a technician (not a tech support rep).

7- He tried to fetch a technician twice, but came back and said that they are not available right now.  He took my number and promised that a software technician (not a tech support rep) will call me back tomorrow. 

So, I am now waiting for a TT software technician to call me tomorrow regarding this e-file status bug.

As a reminder, the reason that the IRS has rejected my return (according to the email that TT sent to notify me of the rejection) is that there is an issue with the calculation of the foreign tax carryover in my return.  Although as of now I have not been able to actually see what has been flagged by the IRS and how their objection can be resolved, foreign tax carryover is exactly what Form 1116 Schedule B is about.  This entire form was automatically calculated and filled by TT and I did not alter, override, or bypass anything.  So, whatever it is that the IRS finds objectionable in this form, it is totally the fault of TT. 

I just have to wait for my first issue to be resolved so that the TT software finally pulls my rejected return to reveal exactly what calculation on Form 1116 Schedule B has been flagged by the IRS.  Once that happens, I may have another round of battles with TT tech support to fix that issue.

Will keep you updated.

[LarryDean]

@Debbie412, as far as I know, 1116B has been working from desktop in semi-automated form since last Friday and fully automated form since last Saturday.  The Turbotax forms availability page also says it is currently working.  As I stated a bit earlier on this page, my status on the IRS site has advanced from accepted to refund approved.  While the refund has not yet hit my bank account, they didn't promised that until day after tomorrow.  Thus, I think SForrestLO is confused.  Since he apparently thinks this coming Saturday is March 18, perhaps he has trouble keeping track of dates.  That said, Turbotax's performance on 1116 has been pretty dismal so far, so I can't categorically rule out the possibility that further 1116 changes will occur on either the 18th or this coming Saturday, as the case may be.    

[JES33]

• @fa123 Not that this helps, but I wonder if it's a bug with the PC Desktop version.  Mine is the Mac desktop version.  Just a thought.  Hope you get this resolved.  I just checked my irs account and it all still looks okay.  I then went to track my refund and it showed the correct amount but that it hadn't been processed yet.  I'm still holding my breath until I see "refund approved."  Good luck.

[GeorgeM777]

If your return has been rejected regarding Form 1116B, please know that the issue is being resolved in a product release scheduled for March 18, 2022. Your tax return now includes updated information to carryover of foreign taxes. On or after March 18 you'll need to sign into TurboTax, complete a quick review (steps below), and resubmit your return. Please note this is just for your federal 1040 tax return. To review and re-submit your return, follow these are the steps if you're using a CD or downloaded version of TurboTax:

1. Update TurboTax (visit our Support Site if you need help updating).
2. Please review your answers under the topic of Foreign Taxes in the Deduction & Credits Section under Estimates and Other Taxes Paid. Make any corrections if prompted.
3.  E-file your return (you won't be charged any additional fees).

Note: The calculation change may affect your refund.

@fa123

@Payor06

[JES33]

@GeorgeM777 should I still update the software even if my return was accepted?  I don’t want to mess up anything. 

[MarilynG1]

You could, but make sure you saved a PDF copy of your filed return, as well as the tax data file.

Click this link for details on How to Save a Tax Data File from TurboTax Online. 

If updating shows a change to your refund, you may want to Amend your Return. 

[Anonymous]

Update :

I tried the turbo desktop uninstall and install but my return status  still showed not Efiled. What a mess .

I contacted Turbo support tech , I could hear her communicating over chat over my problem, with long delays ,  they understand the problem which is exactly like yours , perhaps I was the one that reported like you .

anyway , they said they said they will emailed me but to date, none . The irs website still showed irs have received my return and being processed . Waiting to hear if it is rejected or processed by tomorrow . However  turbo desktop showed as not efiled yet . If I get rejected , I am going to go with olt and be done with turbo since I will not be able to solve it since it still shows as not efile , lol 

by the way , olt which is my standby option has the same 1116 sched b data on turbo1116 sched b (identical )

@fa123 

@JES33 

you are not alone , just letting you I am in the same boat as you thanks for your updates 

[fa123]

@Anonymous @JES33 @MarilynG1 @GeorgeM777 

Dear All, 

1- We now know that we deal with two distinct outstanding issues in TT: (1) an e-file status bug (EFS), and (2) a miscalculation of carryover in Form 1116 Schedule B (1116B).

2- At least @GeorgeM777 has acknowledged that TT knows about the 1116B and is working on a fix to be rolled out on or around March 18.  Like others, I have encountered this 1116B issue and my return has been rejected by the IRS (twice) because of it.  Whether or not this upcoming TT fix will actually, eventually produce returns acceptable to the IRS, remains to be seen.  

3- At least @Anonymous has encountered and reported the same EFS bug as I have.  This is a real TT program bug, at least in the Windows PC desktop (download) Delux version of TT that I have.  It is really simple: a program that e-files my return and successfully transmits it to the IRS, and subsequently claims that I have not e-filed my return yet, HAS A BUG that needs to be fixed, regardless of what, if anything is wrong with my return or whether or not the IRS accepts the transmitted return.

Now some people have been lucky and in spite of 1116B, their returns have been accepted by the IRS.  We do not know yet whether or not 1116B affects the return e-filed by @JES33 but at least he/she has not encountered the EFS bug, because unlike my Windows version, his/her Mac version does not falsely claim that he/she has not e-filed yet. 

Like me, @Anonymous has encountered and reported the EFS bug.  We do not know yet if the IRS accepts or rejects his/her return because of the 1116B bug.  @Anonymous if your return gets accepted by the IRS, then you are lucky and can simply ignore the EFS bug.  If your return gets rejected, then you are in the same boat as I am!

The TT tech support is totally useless.  Virtually all of them are truly clueless about the TT software, its features, and its current issues.   It is bad enough that the TT contains bugs and deficiencies.  But then we have the frustrating process of working our way through the automated obstacles of TT tech support, constructed to divert and prevent users from reaching a human.  The cherry on top is the aggravating experience of dealing with TT tech support people, the vast majority of whom have the analytical skills of a pigeon.  They are overwhelmed by any case that falls outside of the coloring books that TT has given them to follow, are unable to carry on a coherent conversation, and lack the intellectual ability to follow the simplest threads of logical reasoning.   You cannot trust anything they say, nor any promise they make (call-back, followup, etc.).

@GeorgeM777and @MarilynG1 as Experts and employees, can you PLEASE get some qualified technical person at TT look into the EFS bug and first acknowledge that TT recognizes this as an important issue, and have competent technical people to work on it?  You have at least me and @Anonymous as users who have encountered and reported this bug, but so far we are just left in limbo, with no acknowledgement and no talk of a planned fix.  Do you understand how intolerable this limbo is?

[JES33]

@fa123 @Anonymous @MarilynG1 @GeorgeM777 Thanks to all for the continued updates.  I just checked my refund status and it has now been approved and should hit my bank on 3/21.  Again, I am using Mac desktop.  I asked the experts last night what would happen when I update TT with the next fix, even though my status, at the time seemed good, and now it is really good as the refund is approved.  The answer I got implied that it is possible my refund amount could change and I may need to file an amendment (I hope not; enough aggravation for one year).  I was told to be sure to save my return to a PDF, which I had already done.  I was also told to save it to a data file (.tax).  I had no idea how to do that.  The instructions made no sense and seemed to apply to the online version.  How do I do that, or is the TT file on my Mac already a data file.? I am trying to prepare just in case I need to file an amendment.  Thanks.

[TeresaM]

It is indeed a good idea to have a data file copy of your return, which can be plugged into your software, as well as a pdf, which is essentially a picture of the return.

Your data file will end with   .tax2021   You can search for it in Finder.

[HK-NYC]

@JES33   Whenever you exit your TT program, it will ask you if you want to save the file (even if you have not made any changes).  If you answered YES after you e-filed, it will have updated the data file used in your e-filing in whichever folder that you have saved your 2021 tax files (PDF, .tax).  The date and time stamp on the files should correspond to when you last saved your PDF and data files. 

Look up that folder on you Mac and the file with the extension .tax2021 is your data file.  Make a copy of that (and the PDF of your return and worksheets) on a thumb drive or wherever you backup your important files.  That way, whatever happens to your Mac or should the TT program be corrupted, your files can be loaded from that safe-keeping copy.

[JES33]

@HK-NYC @TeresaM Thanks for the follow up.  When I search for a ".tax file," it does not show the file extension, it only shows "my name 2021."  If I am understanding you correctly, this is the data file. If I keep a duplicate of it prior to any software updates, then the duplicate file will be unchanged when TT updates any future releases.

[HK-NYC]

@JES33   I suspect the default view of files saved on your computer is to not show the file extensions.  The fact that your search showed you only the file "my name 2021" is a confirmation that it is the data file.   If you were to launch the TT app, that would be the name of the file that pops up in the very first screen.

In Windows, you can change the way file names are displayed by going to the Menu ribbon at the top and selecting View and then scrolling down to "Show" and then "File Name Extensions".  I'm not sure what the equivalent is on a Mac.

Hope that helps.