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Level 2

Solved

My AL state return is rejected with code AL40-050

33 replies
274 views

As many others have experienced, my Alabama state return was rejected with code AL40-050.

Something is wrong with the way TurboTax is filling out the AL returns when users have W-2's from other states. It's calculating something incorrectly, which is causing AL to reject the return.

There's nothing users can "fix" to correct this, though, because TurboTax automatically calculates everything based on the federal return.

I've seen multiple people report this problem, but haven't seen a solution.

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LenaHAnswer

Alumni - Expert

Ahh, okay... So even though my Florida W-2 has nothing in Box 16, I would put the earnings from Box 1 there?

That's not intuitive--it would probably make sense for TurboTax to prompt users to do that, or maybe plug in the numbers automatically when it does the AL return.

How do I go back and change it? Note that I've already filed my federal return, which I think is where the state return gets its numbers from.

Yes, you would enter your earnings in Box 16.

If your federal e-file is still pending, you won't be able to make changes until the IRS either accepts or rejects your return. Once your federal return is accepted, please follow the directions on the page How do I amend my 2020 return?

After you initiate your amendment, please go back to the W-2 screens and adjust Box 15 and 16 of your W-2.

@JohnHornbuckle

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LenaH

Alumni - Expert

Alabama Code AL40-050 is a rejection on your return because your total Alabama Wages must equal the total amount of all State Wages (including Wages Earned Out of State) as reported in Box 16 of the Federal 1040 W-2.

The first thing you want to do is make sure you've filled out the Personal Info section correctly:

With your return open, select My Info in the left-hand menu.
Then, on the Personal info summary screen, scroll down to Other State Income, and select Edit.
At the Did you make money in any other states? question, answer Yes and make sure your nonresident state is selected from the drop-down.
Select Continue to return to your Personal info summary.

Now, what does your W-2 state? Is there anything in Boxes 15-17?

If not, then choose Florida in the dropdown box (Box 15) and enter their federal payer ID (as shown in Box b). Then, add your wages in Box 16. This will fix your error and you will be able to refile your return.

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JohnHornbuckleAuthor

Level 2

The "My Info" section correctly notes that in addition to making money in AL, I made money in FL.

As for my W-2's... My AL W-2 has numbers in boxes 15-17, which makes sense since AL has a state income tax. My FL W-2 doesn't have numbers in boxes 15-17, which makes sense because FL does NOT have a state income tax.

But my FL income is, I believe, taxable in AL, and I can't help but think that TurboTax is handling this in a way that Alabama doesn't like. I'm plugging in numbers exactly as they appear on my W-2's, and TurboTax is calculating everything from there. The way it's calculating it doesn't align with Alabama's tax code, I suspect.

LenaH

Alumni - Expert

Yes, that is correct. Florida does not have state income tax. However, that error code happens when Alabama state wages do not equal the total amount of wages in Box 16. All W-2's entered must have entries in Box 16. For your Alabama W-2, you would enter what is on the form. For the Florida W-2, you would enter the earnings in Box 1.

In other words, Box 1 of both W-2's must match your states wages in Box 16.

@JohnHornbuckle

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JohnHornbuckleAuthor

Level 2

Do any of the Intuit-affiliated folks here have the ability to talk with the developers about this issue?

It's clear from this and related threads that a LOT of people are having similar issues--and that these issues began prior to the 2020 tax year. TurboTax clearly just doesn't handle AL taxes very well, and we keep asking users to work around it in non-intuitive ways (no pun intended) instead of simply fixing the product.

Zachseplow

Level 2

Even when Correct the information it doesn’t transfer to the correct form

Acc40

Level 2

How can I fix this i have tried all day. I only worked in Alabama. Turbo tax did not put my state tax withheld on line 5a

Acc40

Level 2

Does this work if you only worked in alabama

AnnetteB6

Employee Tax Expert

Double-check the information you have entered for your W-2, especially the section for lines 15 through 17.

If you have entered information for Alabama, along with wages and taxes withheld, but it is not transferring to your state return, then try deleting your state return and going through it again. That will allow the information to transfer from your Federal return from scratch.

@Acc40

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Cldillard0015

Level 2

I have not worked out of state and I am still getting this error. I have deleted and started my state return again and have still been rejected.... Not sure what to do.

debinmobile

Level 2

Please help with this issue.

Lei25

Level 2

It is happening to me too. I can’t solve it. I already consulted a tax preparer and they said they can’t do it for me. I have to do it by myself. They just advised me to try and send it thru mail. And by this time, they said ALABAMA is not accepting paper filing, i am not quite sure about that. This is giving me a headache.