Form 1116 is requesting "detailed explanation" of "other Deduction Statement A." I have completed everything in TurboTax, but don't know what additional info is needed for Line 3A of Form 1116. The query came up during the review of my completed return.

TT wants a description of the deduction for which an amount was entered in  3a.

I have the same question. There is an amount in 3a, but I don't know what it is, why it is there, or how to describe it.

3a will display at least the standard deduction or itemized deductions such as sales taxes, real estate taxes, medical expenses, gifts to charity, etc.

@rogge1722 

I am also getting the below review error:

=====================

Form 1116 (COPY 1) -- Explanation Stm: Detailed Explanation must be completed. Enter your explanation here to complete the required statement. It must show the other deduction items for line 3B colulm a.
Detailed Explanation: ___________

===========================

If I am taking standard deduction, should the display text in above textbox be:

"Standard Deduction"

If that is what the number represents then, yes.  That will explain the deduction.

In my case, the number that required explanation for the deduction was self-employed health insurance. Hope this helps.

rogge1722 - you seem to be the only one answering this question, and your answer is so short and circular it provides absolutely no help to answer the question.  Don't be such a cheapskate.  Use a few more words.  Your answer would get a grade of "D" in school.  It's like a lazy student defining a word with the word itself - "a philosopher is someone who does philosopher stuff".  Come on, dude.  Try harder.

I don't understand, rogge1722 listed a few of the possible items that would be listed on 3a and he or she is correct. You need to determine where the number is coming from. In my case as previously stated, it was self-employed health insurance.

Yes, I suppose I need to determine where the number is coming from, but I didn’t enter the number here, TurboTax did!  Therefore, TurboTax should know where the number came from.  As it turns out, TurboTax entered the standard deduction for me, but didn’t label it, which is what I had to figure out and label as such.  Very confusing for TT to enter a number for you behind the scenes and then ask you to explain what TT did.  At least link the error message back to the walkthrough question that produced the problem.

I'm seeing this in TurboTax home and business 2021 on MacOS.   I looked at the number in line 3B column a but Turbotax has filled in the number and I have no idea where it came from.  Data source via rightclick doesn't work on the Mac.  How do I find out where TurboTax is getting this number so I can write an explanation?

It's generally either the standard deduction line 3 (a) (1) or if you itemize, it's more than likely going to be 10000 in line 3 (a) (5) as you'll likely have max'd out in real estate taxes, state income taxes, etc. The description for this would be something like Remaining itemized deductions.

Found it - it is the amount on 1040 line 10 (adjustments to income).   So description would be "adjustments to income (1040 schedule 1)".   It's not remaining itemized deductions, per tax help charitable deductions are always excluded.

That is definitely not the case with my return. Line 10 is not populated and the value in 3a5 is 10000 which corresponds to the max deduction for Schedule A line 7. This has nothing to do with charitable contributions which is Schedule A line 14.

I agree Turbotax is lacking for this question. I was able to figure it out by looking across a few other tax forms. For me, there was a value on Form 1040 that matched the number in question, which referenced that I look at Schedule 1. Turns out my "other deductions" were a sum of a deductible part of self employment tax, SEP IRA contribution, and self employed insurance -- all indicated on Schedule 1. 

TurboTax figured it out so it should provide a statement. For me I just wrote "Standard deduction, Schedule 1 deductions" since this is where the amounts on my line a and b came from.

I agree with bow wow, jut put a statement standard deduction from Schedule B

Mine turned out to be my HSA deduction.

For line 3a, the IRS instructions say, "Line 3a. Enter the following itemized deductions (from Schedule A (Form 1040)) on line 3a. • Medical expenses (line 4). • General sales taxes (line 5a). • Real estate taxes for your home (line 5b). If you don't itemize deductions, enter your standard deduction on line 3a."

It used your HSA distributions, not your HSA deduction, because TurboTax assumes that the distributions reported in box 1 of the 1099-SA correspond to medical expenses that you paid for.

If this is not the case, please come back and tell us.

Oh I see the difference now.  My error message was slightly different.  It was for line 3b column a.  That's where it has my HSA contribution.  Not line 3a.

My Form 1116 line 3a is being reduced by the $10,000 cap on itemized taxes, so rather than matching what you mention in your note, in TurboTax, my Form 1116 line 3a is Schedule A line 4 plus line 7 rather than 4 plus 5a plus 5b.  The instructions for Form 1116 indicate what you said is correct, but this isn't what TurboTax is doing.  Which is correct?  And if it's the latter, how do I correct it in TurboTax?   

It would be helpful to have a TurboTax token.  The token provides a sanitized version of your return.  We will be able to see the numbers but not any personal information such as your name, SSN, or address.  

If you would like to do this, here are the instructions: 

In TurboTax Online, go to the black panel on the left side of your program and select Tax Tools. 

1. Then select Tools below Tax Tools. 
2. A window will pop up which says Tools Center.  
3. On this screen, select Share my file with Agent. 
4. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click okay through this screen, and you will get a Token number. 

In TurboTax CD/Download versions, go to the black panel on your screen and select Online. 

1. Scroll down and select Send tax file to Agent. 
2. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click send through this screen, and you will get a Token number. 

Reply to this thread with your Token number. 

We will then be able to see precisely what you are seeing, and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return and provide you with a resolution.

@LeelaBell 

My token is 1086333.  Thank you for your help!  

Hi there, just checking to see if you received my token or have any further information for me.  

Thank you!

Andrea 

Hi there, Just checking in to see if you all have had a chance to look into this potential issue with Form 1116 handling of itemized deductions.  Also, the entry on Form 1116 line 3e "Gross income from all sources" appears WAY too high.  I cannot figure out where that number came from, and the "Smart worksheet" does not itemize it.  It is nearly double our AGI.  Even if I add in our 529 distributions and any tax exempt income, I still can't get close to that number.  

Thanks for your help!