How do I Report Turbotax calculation error. Turbotax gave me a lower Federal tax than either Taxslayer or the 1040 tax table (Turbotax was $276 lower)?

[xmasbaby0]

Doubt it was a calculation error.   More likely it was a difference in what you entered or where you entered it .  All of the tax software undergoes intense scrutiny and approval from the IRS, so the same information entered into any retail tax software program should get the same results.  But if you enter some income in a wrong/different spot, leave something out, etc etc etc.....the results will differ.   The only way you could spot the difference would be to print the Form 1040's and place them side by side to see what is different--line by line.

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

There are like 7 different ways to figure the tax depending on the kind of income you have.

Even though the full amount shows up as income on the 1040 as income, if you have capital gains or qualified dividends the tax is not taken from the tax table but is calculated separately from schedule D.  The tax will be calculated on the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.  It does not get filed with your return.  In the online version you need to save your return as a pdf file and include all worksheets to see it.

For the Desktop version you can switch to Forms Mode and open the worksheet to see it.  Click Forms in the upper right (upper left for Mac) and look through the list and open the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/forms/help/form-1040-line-11-amount-is-less-than-standard-irs-tax-...

[VolvoGirl]

Some things to check.

Even if you entered the same amounts there are a lot of other things that you might have answered differently.  Like your filing status, birthdate, dependents,  if you answered a dependent question wrong you might not be getting the same credits for them.  You might have qualified for Head of Household on one return but not on the other. Or if you are a dependent you might have missed checking the box that says you can be claimed on someone else’s return.

A common difference is not entering qualified dividends and capital gains from 1099 DIV box 1b and 2a.   

Did you have any 1099R forms for a RMD, Required Minimum Distribution?  Turbo Tax  has a problem with those this year.

If you get Social Security the taxable amount on 1040 line 6b might have been calculated differently.   

[junglej]

Sorry I didn't give more detail. The TAXABLE INCOME (1040 Line 15) in both Turbotax and Taxslayer shows as $86,000. In both I verified that there were no dependents, the return is set to MFJ and dates of birth both filers to be over 65. Line 16 "Tax" in Turbotax shows $9,583. The same line in Taxslayer shows $9,859 which is exaclty the same as the IRS tax table show for MFJ with taxable income of $86,000. On the $86,000 line in the tax table, the taxes for the various filing categories are: 13,979, 9,859, 13,979 and 12,285. No tax numbers on the 86,000 taxable income line are 9,583. HOWEVER, the 83,700 taxable income line in the tax table shows a tax of 9,583 - the amount Turbotax put into the return at the higher 86,000 taxable income level. 

[VolvoGirl]

Go back up and read my first post.  There are several different ways to calculate the tax.  The tax will be calculated on the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet. It does not get filed with your return. In the online version you need to save your return as a pdf file and include all the worksheets to see it.

[junglej]

Yes, It was Qualified Dividends that reduced the actual taxable income. Sometimes I'm dumb at the speed of light!