Business vs Personal Tax Info in TT Home And Business

[rmattson]

Maybe a rhetorical question....

I own a condo and rent it out.  I report my income and expenses for this in TT Home and Business product.  

When running this software, TT first walks me through the "business" side of my inputs.  When it starts this "business" side, it presents info from last  year which was part of my "personal" side.  Why doesn't the software, or why can't the software, differentiate between my business account info and my personal account info?  When this happens, I get the "feeling" that TT is double counting my personal interest/dividends (and other elements) as business entries AND counts them again when the same entries are presented when the software runs me through the "personal" entries.  I of course don't believe the software is double counting anything, but why does it present the same entries in both the business and personal walkthroughs?

[AnnetteB6]

When you first open a tax file for your 2022 return by importing the information from your 2021 return, TurboTax will ask you if certain income and deduction items still apply for 2022.  Things such as banks reporting interest income, companies providing you with a W-2, etc. will be shown on a list so that you can say 'yes, you will be entering that information again' or 'no, I do not need this entry'.  This list of items may keep popping up until you have answered either yes or no.  You should not be asked to enter any details about those items until you get to the appropriate section of TurboTax to fill in your 2022 information.  

For example, if you were asked about an entry for Form 1099-INT for interest income from Bank of America and you answered 'yes' you do have that again this year, then when you get to the Interest Income section, you will not be starting from scratch.  The Form 1099-INT for Bank of America will already be there and all you need to do is enter the amount of interest.  If you answer 'no' that you do not have interest from Bank of America, then the program will delete that entry before you get to the Interest Income section.  

Items from the 'business' section and items from the 'personal' section will still remain in those sections for you to enter the current year information and details.  TurboTax is just trying to present you with a list of as many things as possible to help save you some steps.  

If you find that there is an extra form or input there after you've worked through your return, you can always use the Forms mode in the upper right corner of the screen to find and delete it.  Click Forms, then highlight the form on the list down the left side of the screen, then click the Delete button at the bottom.

[rmattson]

Thank you AnnetteB6 for the reply.   I understand what TT is doing when it presents these entries to me again this year (after importing them from last year's return).  Using your BOA example.  Say I have BOA personal account for which I earned $2,000 of interest in 2022.  This hypothetical account has nothing to do with any income or expenses I have associated with the rental of my condo (assume that I have a separate bank account that I use for condo related deposits and expenses).  

When TT Home and Business starts, it first walks you through your Business Activity.  When you start the Business Activity, it presents info about (and asks if these activities still apply) my BOA personal bank account.  

Again I understand that TT is trying to be helpful by presenting this into to me.  But WHY is it presenting this info, about my personal BOA bank account, during the business section walk through?  Can't/Doesn't the software differentiate between my business and personal tax lives?  Because it does not appear to differentiate, it gives me the impression that it is counting my inputs in BOTH my business and personal inputs (i.e double counting).  Maybe "it is what it is" is the real answer and I just have to accept that the software is not double counting my inputs as both business and personal.  

[AnnetteB6]

I have not personally experienced TurboTax asking about personal income items while you are working through the business section of your return (Home and Business is the version I typically use myself).  In general, all of the carryover items pop up to ask if they still apply for this year before you start entering the income and expense details of your return.  So I was a bit surprised to hear that TurboTax is functioning the way you described.  

Fortunately, since you are using the Home and Business desktop version of the program, you have the added benefit of being able to view the actual tax forms anytime during the process.  Just click Forms in the upper right corner of the screen (left corner for Mac) and you can see all the forms and worksheets that are being used in your return.  That way, if you have a question about where something is being reported, you can look at it on the form itself.  When you're done taking a look, just click the Step-by-Step button to go back to the input screens.

@rmattson