Why can't I report the Coronavirus-Related and Other Qualified 2020 Disaster Distributions ratably for the second of the three years? It keeps saying Needs Review.

[DawnC]

Go through these steps again to get your return corrected and ready to e-file if you had a Covid-19 related distribution in 2020 and selected to spread the distribution over 3 years:

1. Search for 1099-R and use the Jump to 1099-R link.
2. Either answer NO to the question or if you don't get a question, scroll down and click Continue or Done.
3. On the Did you take any disaster distributions in prior years or repay any distributions in 2021?  Answer YES.
4. On the Did you take a 2020 Qualified Disaster Distribution?  Answer YES. You will get a drop-down screen.
5. Mark the box that says This was a 2020 coronavirus distribution.  
6. Enter the amount on your 2020 8915-E form, Line 4b.
7. Fill in the rest of the boxes from your 2020 Form 8915-E.  See Image
8. The next screen asks about repayments not reported on your 2020 return.
9. Answer NO to the Did you take a disaster distribution in 2017-2019?  unless you did.

TurboTax will generate From 8915-F and add it to your return.   Preview your 1040 to see the taxable portion reflect on either Line 4b or 5b, depending on your plan type.   

[iantronnguyen]

It takes me back to IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan Withdrawals (1099-R) with orange message “Needs Review” every time. My distribution was through 401K and I enter 1/3 amount on both line 9’s. I’ve tried it at least 10 times and same thing happens.

[Cynthiad66]

The instructions given by @DawnC should have allowed you to submit your Disaster Relief income.  Since you have tried so many times, your computer may be caught in a loop where you may need to Clear cookies, history and reboot.  

Cookies are small files that temporarily store data on your computer. We use them to personalize your experience so you see information you already entered and not items that are irrelevant or repetitive.

On rare occasions, they may make your browser think you already did something that you still need to do. To fix that, you'll need to delete (clear) the cookies from your browser.

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@iantronnguyen

[iantronnguyen]

I tried clearing history on my Safari OS iPhone and same thing. It says I need to revisit the same section and “Needs Review”. I will try on my laptop later tonight and clear the cookies and hope that will work. 

[JamesG1]

What error message do you get when you run Federal Review?  Does the error message refer to a specific box or entry?  Perhaps there is a {blank} in what  looks like an empty field.  Or you may want to delete the entry and start over.

IRS Form 8915-F information can be entered at the screen Did you take a 2020 Qualified Disaster Distribution?  I was able to report Qualified 2020 Disaster Distributions from Part II and Part III from the 2020 8915-E by following these steps.

• Go to Federal / Wages & Income / Retirement Plans and Social Security / IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan Withdrawals (1099-R).
• Click Start / Revisit to the right.
• At the screen Did you receive any 1099-R forms? select No.
• At the screen Have you ever taken a disaster distribution before 2021?, Click Yes.
• At the screen Did you take a 2020 Qualified Disaster Distribution?, enter 8915F and 8915E information.

I also reported that:

• I did not repay any 2020 Qualified Disaster Distribution in 2021.
• I did not report a disaster distribution in 2017, 2018 or 2019.
• The screen Did you take a disaster distribution at any time between 2018 and 2020? you are instructed to select YES if you need to report 1/3 of the amount of your distribution from a prior year.  That has already been done.  Select No, I didn't.

@iantronnguyen 

[iantronnguyen]

No, it did not solve the problem. I’ve tied so many times and followed the instructions. After completion, It’s loops me back to beginning section with a Needs Review message again. A Turbo Tax advisor actually contacted me and we went to through it on my screen and we could not figure it out. She thought maybe because I live in CA and form 8915-F is not available here in TurboTax yet and to wait a few days and try again, but I thought it was available for everyone.

[taxny89]

Were you able to file it? I have the same exact problem and TurboTax refuses to help and pretend there is no problem. I read so many people asking about this "needs review" problem with this form and they repeat the same generic instructions which we already followed carefully. I am seriously leaving Turbotax for using it for over 10 years. 

[DoninGA]

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@taxny89 wrote:

Were you able to file it? I have the same exact problem and TurboTax refuses to help and pretend there is no problem. I read so many people asking about this "needs review" problem with this form and they repeat the same generic instructions which we already followed carefully. I am seriously leaving Turbotax for using it for over 10 years. 

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Did you follow this procedure exactly -

You must go to the Retirement Income section of the program for a Form 1099-R to be able to enter your 2nd year of the 2020 distribution -

Click on Federal

Click on Wages & Income

Scroll down to Retirement Plans and Social Security

On IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan Withdrawals (1099-R), click on the Start or Revisit button

On the screen Did you get a 1099-R in 2021? Click on NO, if you did not receive a 2021 Form 1099-R in 2022

Answer Yes when asked Have you ever taken a disaster distribution before 2021?

Answer Yes when asked if you took a Qualified 2020 Disaster Distribution

Check the box that this was a Coronavirus-related distribution reported in 2020

In the box 2020 Form 8915-E, line 4, column b - Leave blank or enter a 0

This is not required on a Form 8915-F for a Coronavirus-related distribution

If the 2020 distribution was from an account that was Not an IRA

Enter 1/3 of the amount from the 2020 distribution in both boxes for Line 9

2020 Form 8915E, line 9, if you checked the box on that line, enter 0

2020 Form 8915E Line 9 

If the 2020 distribution was from an IRA account

Enter 1/3 of the amount from the 2020 distribution in both boxes for Line 17

2020 Form 8915E, line 17, if you checked the box on that line, enter 0

2020 Form 8915E Line 17 

Do not enter anything in the other boxes, leave them blank (empty)

The 1/3 of the amount from the 2020 distribution will be entered on the 2021 Form 1040 Line 4b if from an IRA or on Line 5b if from a retirement plan other than an IRA

After completing the Wages & Income section you will land on a screen Did you take a disaster distribution at any time between 2018 and 2020?

Answer NO since you have already completed the entering the 1/3 of the 2020 distribution.

You can view your Form 1040 at any time using the online editions. Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

Using the desktop editions click on Forms.  Open the Form 1040

NOTE - During Federal Review you may get a notice to check an entry.  Clicking Check Entries takes you to the Check This Entry screen showing a box for entering a FEMA Disaster name.  Put your cursor in the box (click in the box) and then click on the spacebar.  Click on Continue  On the following screen Run Smart Check Again click on Done.

The Form 8915-F you completed already has the box for the Coronavirus checked on Item D of the form.

As stated on the Form 8915-F -

If your disaster is the coronavirus, check this box ▶ Don’t list the coronavirus in item C.

[taxny89]

I did exactly what you listed (the same copy pasted answer I found everywhere on this board) and it doesn't go away. So your answer doesn't solve the problem.  

[DoninGA]

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@taxny89 wrote:

I did exactly what you listed (the same copy pasted answer I found everywhere on this board) and it doesn't go away. So your answer doesn't solve the problem.  

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So what is the program asking you to review in the Form 1099-R section?

[taxny89]

I don't use a program. It is the online turbotax. It says needs review and I follow all the steps as listed in the previous reply and other posts and when it is done it says needs review again and never goes away an infinite loop.  :(

[DoninGA]

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@taxny89 wrote:

I don't use a program. It is the online turbotax. It says needs review and I follow all the steps as listed in the previous reply and other posts and when it is done it says needs review again and never goes away an infinite loop.  :(

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Did you answer this question with a NO -

After completing the Wages & Income section you will land on a screen Did you take a disaster distribution at any time between 2018 and 2020?

Answer NO since you have already completed the entering the 1/3 of the 2020 distribution.

If you did and still receive the Needs Review for the Form 1099-R.  Ignore the warning.  Continue the tax return and complete for filing.

[iantronnguyen]

The last TurboTax advisor told me to just complete everything but not submit it, then print out 1040 to see if 8915 is there. I will let you know once I finish. I had erase everything earlier and started over, thinking that would solve it but it didn’t.

[Mary G9457]

Great information, thank you!  I have a follow-up question.  When it comes to the drop down - below - the answer is yes, but none of the drop down answers apply.  Do I leave this blank?  In the review it asked for a start and end date for the disaster.   Can you help please?

Which disaster affected Mary in 2020?  

For the Qualified 2020 Disaster Distribution Mary reported, we need to know which disaster affected you.

Type of disaster