Claiming MN Frontline Worker Pay on TurboTax Free Edition

You can try to file this as other income and possibly workaround the requirement to file this as 1099-MISC income.  Try this and let us know if this is successful.

1. Go to federal>income and expenses>all income>>show more 
2. Less Common Income> Start
3. Miscellaneous Income,>start
4. Other reportable income>start
5. Next screen asks Any Other Taxable Income>yes
6. The next screen will allow you to report the income with a brief explanation.
7. Describe this as Minnesota Front line Worker pay and then record the amount

Ok, thanks for the idea, I will try this tomorrow morning and let you know how it goes. 

Ok, I just tried your suggestion, and I get the same message “To accurately complete your taxes, you need to upgrade to TurboTax Deluxe”.   

This way worked for me! Thank you so much!!

To enter Minnesota Frontline Worker, follow these steps:

• Down the left side of the screen, click Federal.
• Down the left side of the screen, click Wages & Income.
• Click Show more to the right of Less Common Income.
• Select Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A.
• Select Other reportable Income.
• As a description enter MN Frontline Worker Pay.

In the Minnesota tax return, remove the income at the screen Frontline Worker Pay.

I put the income in the federal like you said but when I got to the state it said to put the money you received only if you claimed in federal. You said to not do that?

I don't see where anyone said "not to do that", but no matter.

In both Dave's and James' suggestions, you are claiming the income on the federal return, so that you will back it off (i.e., subtract it off) the state return.

@Jayson S

How do I subtract it in the state? It asks the amount I claimed in federal by putting it in this is automatically subtracted? Im confused 

Yes, on the Minnesota screen that asks you for the Frontline Worker Pay, enter as a positive number the amount that you added to federal income as Frontline Worker Pay (wherever you entered it). This amount will be subtracted from your state income.

I appreciate the quick response thank you very much 

I inputted the information and it is telling me I need a EIN number for this can I just leave that blank?

You may be entering your Minnesota Frontline Worker Payment in the wrong place.

Here’s how to enter your Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay in TurboTax.

To add Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay to federal:

1. Select Federal in the left column
2. Tap Wages & Income
3. Scroll down to Less Common Income
4. Select Miscellaneous Income, 1099-A, 1099-C
5. Select Other reportable Income
6. Say Yes to “Any Other Taxable Income”
7. On “Other Taxable Income,” enter MN Frontline as the description and the amount

To remove Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay from your MN return:

1. Continue in Minnesota until you see the screen “Frontline Worker Pay”
2. Enter the Payment Amount (Do not enter an amount unless the payment was included in your federal income)

To learn more about Frontline Worker Pay.

@Jsperl

Thank you for the instructions, however, it still wants me to upgrade to the Deluxe addition.  How do I avoid this.

You will have to upgrade to Deluxe to enter other income.

Minnesota says you may be able to file for free on these sites: Free Electronic Filing.

@millyshwiff

I did as you said and it shows me in the review that I need to enter the ein number for the state of Minnesota on the 1099 MISC paperwork 

Delete your 1099. If you entered your Minnesota Frontline Worker Pay as Other Income, you do not need an entry in the 1099 section.

1. Type 1099-misc in Search (magnifying glass) in the top right
2. Select Jump to 1099-misc
3. On "1099-MISC Summary" delete your 1099

@Jsperl

I'm not paying to upgrade. And it will not let me enter it any of the ways that are on here. 

I thought there is one more step otherwise MN taxes this 

Yes, after entering the amount in the federal interview you will need to go to the MN state interview.  Click through the income section and you will be asked to enter your MN Frontline Pay to deduct it from MN taxable income.

Did any of you read the original question? You could have just not wasted everyone's time by saying, "you can't put in front line worker pay without us bilking you for $80 additional"  instead of repeating the same bad directions over and over that didn't answer the question.

You will need to pay to upgrade to Deluxe if reporting this income through your taxes. There's no way out of it, which sucks. I am paying $93 just to get the 1099 form added. Very upsetting. 

Yeah, it does look like there’s no way around the deluxe upgrade.  I paid $83, and that’s with the automatic discount they gave me.  I think without any discount, it’s $113.

I just added to my AGI.. wasn't going to pay 78 dollars to upgrade.. ended up paying taxes on it for Minnesota but it was  less than the 78 dollar upgrade... hopefully the feds don't freak out about it lol

Yes,  there was a news release from the IRS asking taxpayers to hold off filing tax returns if there were rebates offered in certain states.  The agency is trying to determine if this is taxable income or not. The Minnesota Front Line Worker Pay was included in this news release. 

You might find this article informative for future reference.  

@Mark7519