Enter the alimony paid and other requested information in the Deductions & Credits section of the interview for your federal tax return. (To revisit this section type alimony in the search box and then select the Jump to link.)
After you enter the required data here, TurboTax will tell you that your federal alimony deduction is $0. We expect it to do that, of course, but it will preserve the data to transfer to your state return.
A question about your alimony will come up in your state interview automatically based on your entry. If, for some reason, it does not, please let us know and indicate which state you are filing in so that we can assist further.
I'm stuck at my California State return as TurboTax doesn't allow me to proceed. Please let me know what I'm missing. Here are the details:
I moved from California to Florida in April 2019. I only paid alimony starting in May 2019, i.e., as a CA non-resident. I am getting this (Smart Check) conflict message:
Sch CA(540NR): Ln F-Alimony pd while NR plus line H must be less than line 31a, column A.
(Line 31a, column A is 0)
How can I fix this? I did pay the full sum while a CA non-resident but the form doesn't allow me to enter that.
Go back to the California state interview and Edit the Alimony from the interview section.
The only way to "fix" this would be to enter zero on the California state interview. But that would be inaccurate, as I did pay the amount after I moved out of California.
Do you have California-source income during your period of nonresidency? You cannot deduct payments made during your period of nonresidency against income earned during your period of residency.
You may be able to deduct the payments against California-source income that is taxable during your period of nonresidency, if you have any taxable income during that same time period. However, you can't deduct the alimony paid during a time period that you had no California taxable income.
Ah, understood. No, I do not have California-source income during my nonresidency. (I moved to a different state for a new job some time after leaving my old job in California.)
So looks like I will need to adjust it to 0 then. I wish Turbo Tax could automagically determine this scenario.
Thank you!
We try. There are millions of Taxpayers and just as many different situations.
Thank you for using TurboTax.
I entered Alimony in the federal returns and it says I don't qualify. However, this information did not carry over to my California return. Where do I enter it?
@laansasa Don't qualify for a deduction for alimony paid?
Click this link for more info on Deducting Alimony Paid.
If your decree was after 01/01/2019, you will need to make an Adjustment in your California return.
If prior, no adjustment is needed.
This link has more info from the California FTB.