Will TurboTax generate form 8621 automatically if I enter my dividends from my foreign mutual funds? And how can I report foreign mutual funds with no dividends?

[DaveF1006]

​​​​​​According to this Turbo Tax link, this is how you will report this.

1. Federal Taxes
2. Wages and Income
3. Scroll down to Investment Select Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other - select No to 1099-B question, No to Financial Institution and enter name of your foreign institution.  Follow the prompts. You will able to enter your sale information. This will result with all your mutual funds reported on its respective form and Schedule (form 8949 and Schedule D) 

If you paid any foreign tax, please use below steps for data entry of the foreign tax:

1. Federal Taxes
2. Deductions and Credits
3. Estimates and Other Taxes paid, select Foreign Tax - the initial portion of the interview may not apply to you, it asks about forms such as 1099-Int, 1099-Div; just bypass the questions until you re able to enter foreign taxes that are not withheld on those forms.

[adele plunk]

Hi, Can you explain where to find the number of sales for a foreign mutual fund?

Also, when I scroll to Investment Select Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Other , then I am not prompted for No to 1099-B question.  Can you please explain how to indicate that I have no 1099-B?

Thanks.

[SusanY1]

TurboTax does not support Form 8621.  However, if you are knowledgeable in how to complete the form, you may complete it manually and attach it to a tax return that you print and file by mail.   

If you are looking for the sales data from your foreign mutual fund for Form 8621 you may wish to see if the fund manager can provide it for you.  Some of the larger mutual fund and ETF families will produce "PFIC statements" to aid U.S. taxpayers with the reporting requirements related to passive foreign investments (PFICs). 

Typically, these are not sent out to individual shareholders, but are publicized on their investor websites.  This is typically done late March to early April.  

If your fund company cannot provide this information for you,  you may wish to seek the advice of a professional with expertise in this area. Mistakes with PFIC reporting can be quite costly and failing to include the form when required opens a taxpayer up to an essentially unlimited examination period for that tax return (until the issue is corrected).  

To enter the information without a 1099-B select "other" on the initial investment screen.  This will then allow you to enter the data without that form.  You will still be able to indicate that your investment is a mutual fund a little later.

See below for a screenshot of the most recent interface for this section.

@adele plunk

[Bowie1997]

Thanks, Susan. This was very helpful. Am I correct in understanding that no version of Turbo Tax supports form 8621? So that it if that form is required, I will have to file a paper return?

[DoninGA]

@Bowie1997 The answer provided was from 2 years ago, so the poster is probably no longer available.

You are correct that no version of TurboTax supports IRS Form 8621, Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund.

To include the Form 8621 with your federal tax return you will have to file a paper tax return.

[Bowie1997]

Thanks. TT should add Form 8621 to at least one of their versions. It's not that uncommon today.