How do I enter money paid back to employer for over payments the previous tax year?

[rburgis]

I was accidentally overpaid by my employer in 2014 and had to repay that money back to them in 2015.  Tax was paid on the original overpayment so the repayment should be deductible for 2015 return.  How would I enter that deduction?

[DoninGA]

Since you repaid the taxable amounts in 2015, the amounts repaid are entered as an itemized deduction on Schedule A or as a tax credit on Form 1040 Line 73d as a Claim of Right IRC 1341, depending on the amount repaid.

To report the repayment of taxable income as an itemized deduction on Schedule A -

• Click on Federal Taxes (Personal using Home and Business)
• Click on Deductions and Credits
• Click on I'll choose what I work on
• Scroll down to Other Deductions and Credits
• On Other Deductible Expenses, click on the start or update button

On the next screen, click on No (Generation Skipping Taxes)

(If the repayment was $3,000 or less) On the next screen, click on Yes (Less Common Expenses) and enter a description and the amount repaid on the following screen.  Continue with this section until it completes.

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(If the repayment was greater then $3,000) On the next screen, click on No (Less Common Expenses)

On the next screen, click on Yes (Any Other Deductions)

On the next screen, enter the amount repaid in the box for Claim of Right repayment.  Continue with this section until it completes.

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If your repayment is greater then $3,000, instead of entering the amount repaid as an itemized deduction on Schedule A, you can enter a Claim of Right tax credit on Form 1040 Line 73d,  You will need to determine which method of reporting the repayment gives you the greater benefit.

This tax credit can only be entered directly on Form 1040, so you have to use the 2015 desktop editions as the online editions do not have the capability to enter tax data directly on a form, schedule or worksheet.  Using the desktop editions in Forms mode to access Form 1040 Line 73d and enter the tax credit in the Other Credits and Payments Smart Worksheet line D.

To figure the Claim of Right tax credit, use Method 2 in IRS Publication 525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income. page 34 - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p525.pdf

[Jaybee2]

How would I do this for this year? Can I do it in the web version? The directions don’t seem to be applicable.

[JosephF8]

To enter this as a deduction in TurboTax

• Go to Deductions and Credits
• Under Other Deductions and Credits
• Next to Other Deductible Expenses select Start
• Select No until you get to the screen that says Tell us about your other expenses
• Claim of right repayment is on this screen

Enter your repayment.