Posting a question

[The-old-version-was-easier]

I may need to be tranquilized.

I'd gotten near the end of my taxes and had questions.  The menu allowed me to ask a question then told me it did not understand the question and to try again.

How can I know how to ask a question in the way it understands?  I speak English.  I don't even know what language I will need to learn to post the question. 

The system first led me in loops to ask turbotax.  Then it led me through the same circles to ask the community.

I eventually searched Google and found the community and registered and kept going through the same situation.

Then I found the ability to send email.   But I had to know someone's registered name.

I've used Intuit products since the 1980s including multiple versions of Quicken, Turbotax, (Something for wills and home inventory?), Multiple versions of Quickbooks for personal and a business with inventory, Mint and Quickbooks POS. '

Getting help has always been difficult, but this is horrible.  It's like having an Exit sign on a building and only finding yourself back wehre you started.

I participate in other forums, both product related and general.

Why was this so difficult?

[xmasbaby0]

Not sure why you are having so much difficulty with finding and using the user forum.  But now that you have figured out how to post a question, you could come back here and post your actual question(s) and wait for someone to try to help you.  This is not live chat--you post your question and wait for a reply.

Or if you are using a paid version of the software you can also contact customer support--but with the filing deadline a week away, the lines are very busy and you could have a long wait.

Phone support is not provided with the Free Edition.  If you are using a paid version of the software or if you purchased PLUS you can get phone support when customer support is there.  Otherwise, post your question here and someone will try to help.

To call TurboTax customer support

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

They are available from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific time 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax

or

https://www.facebook.com/turbotax

To reply to this post, just click "reply" and ask your questions.

[The-old-version-was-easier]

Thanks.  

I think this is the problem.  I was using the online version and had questions and faced the dreaded AI Bot.  Though I am a native-born, fluent speaker of English with a college education, I could not pose a question in a way that the AI Bot understood.  I even wondered just what language I had to learn in order to ask it a question.

But after several attempts it suggested I ask teh community and to do so right in the window.  I asked teh question and it searched the database, but as no questions were close, it provided as many random answers as possible.

Imagine trying to communicate with someone when neither of you speaks each other's language.   Now give the other person enough phrases in your language so each time they did not understand they indicated that the problem was entirely yours for not being able to instantaneously know their language fluently./

I continued but the bot went in circles.  There was no link to the communities.  So I asked about twelve ways how to find (where is, link for connect to, url for) how to reach the communities.  Each time the response referred to community property or told me what the communities did.

I logged out the bot and looked throughout the menus online.  They referred to the communities, but did not say how to reach them.

So I googled the communities, and had to register, even though I was registered the intuit.

So telling me I could get help from the communities without a clue as to how to reach them was very unhelpful.

AI  Bots are not ready to do very much at all.  They hold tremendous potential for the future.  But they should not be implemented until they are capable of comprehending English at a pre-school level.  They need vast information to improve, and right now companies have installed them not to really answer questions, but to learn from our questions.  Essentially the public is programming the computers fro free as they stand between them and help.

Companies used to support their products.   They have managed to convince their customers that they are responsible for supporting the other customers.  Add on AIBots that stand as a roadblock, non-existent, or poorly-written documentation, inconsistencies, bugs, and using terminology unique to their company, it results in what should be considered customer negligence.

[JandK]

Bought a primary home in GA in 08/2008. A job change forced move of 400 miles to FL in 11/2010. Lived i home 27 months. 

Converted to rental in 2011. Used a rental agent due to the distance.  We set our rents, approved tenants, authorized repairs over $200.  Agent accepted applications, accepted rents, deducted repairs from rents, forwarded net rent to us monthly,  We sold this home in 08/2020.  We have been renters ourselves since 2011.  

Can we used Safe Harbor Rule Exceptiion or any other exceptions from the capital gains of the home sale?

Thank you!

[Mike9241]

no you can't. the full home sale exclusion is only available if one of you owns it and both of you lived in it as your primary residence for any 2 years (730 days) out of 5 years before the sale. a reduced exclusion would only apply if you sold your house because of certain situations but you would still have to meet the use test during the 5 years before the sale. you don't 

[Mamagraham1]

I am working our taxes and as I was filling out the HSA portion it told me that we had overpaid by $416.  I guess this was due to my husband losing his job as it calculated what we should have had contributed for the 4 months of last year we had an HDHP.  So it is telling me that we need to withdraw that amount before May 17th to avoid the 6% tax.  We have used all but about $40 so I am trying to figure out how to make sure we are not dinged for the extra tax.  Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you! 🙂

[CELECTRONICA]

Re: Posting aI have same [roblem of posting a question, so I just posted replying to a question whucg probably will not get an answer i need, But here goes anyway.

1)  WHERE IS THE LINK FOR Posting a question?

[Critter-3]

You already  posted 2 questions ... click on your icon to see them ...   https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4580193

To post new ones leave the forum and log back into your program and ask a question in the search box. 

[Basement_Buzzard]

Same question...Where do you post a question in the TT "Community"?

Why is the search engine so lame as to pull 500 pages of results most of which are outdated?

If you desire so much to support your customers, why have you made it so difficult?

The latest PR version of the "Community" appears to be a joke? 

If you have to call customer support, then your web based "support" system has failed no matter how pretty it looks.

[DawnC]

To start a new thread in the Community, use this link @Basement_Buzzard.   The search engine you use has its own algorithms that determine what search results are shown.   Phone support is available when you can't find an answer in the community or you have an issue that can't be resolved from our public question and answer forum.   

[Chad Callaghan 45]

I think there's an error in the 2021 tax software related to itemized deductions that should flow from the federal return to the state of Louisiana return. I legitimately believe that someone at Intuit needs to review this matter. I am a former tax preparer (from the years 1992 - 2005, I found a job in private accounting after Hurricane Katrina), and I genuinely believe that this is an issue for your software experts. I went into the previous year's software and tried a similar situation and it worked fine, but it does not and will not work in the 2021 software.  I have purchased and used Turbotax for myself for over 20 years.  Could someone please look into this matter and let me know.  Thank you.

[BillM223]

It would help if you would give us some more information, like

1. Which itemized deductions are we talking about? Just one, more than one, or whatever goes over some monetary limit?

2. Are you taking the Standard Deduction or Itemized on the federal return?

3. Did you hit the $10,000 SALT cap on the federal return?

[Chad Callaghan 45]

BillM223,

1) The itemized deductions I'm referring to are my total itemized deductions.  The total (which for me is $55,954) mostly consists of a casualty/theft loss (it was the difference between an SBA-surveyed evaluation of my home after Hurricane Ida and the amount that my homeowner's insurance paid to me).  There are also my deductions for medical expenses, mortgage interest and property taxes paid.  But the SOURCE of the itemized deductions is irrelevant; what matters is that the total of those deductions should be reduced by the standard deduction for MFJ ($24,000) and then be reflected on the LA. state income tax return.  And it isn't.
2) #1 above answers your second question.
3) The SALT cap does not apply here.

I hope this answers your question.  Thank you for responding so quickly.

[Chad Callaghan 45]

BillM223, I want to bring up one other thing in an attempt to point you in the right direction; it's possible that all of this is being affected by a "standard deduction claimed with qualified disaster loss".  I've never seen that before, so... possibly that's an issue with the state of Louisiana?

The way the calculation for my itemized deductions are being reflected is like this: it lists my "NET QUALIFIED DISASTER LOSS" as $30,884 and then there's an additional "STANDARD DEDUCTION CLAIMED WITH QUALIFIED DISASTER LOSS" in the amount of $25,100.  The total is the aforementioned $55,984 (that I mentioned in the previous response).   Perhaps the state of LA. limits this figure?  But it's odd that none of this amount flows to the State of LA. return as itemized deductions.

I tried a little experiment.  I went into the 2020 tax software and entered in an amount of $30,000 as mortgage interest - just to see if it would affect the outcome of the State of LA. return.  It did.  The refund for both IRS and State of LA. jumped up (due to the itemized deductions being claimed on both the federal and state of LA. returns).  So there's that.  I think the itemized deductions for 2021 should transfer to the State of LA. return - but they don't, and I don't know why.

Thanks again.

[BillM223]

So on your IT-540, lines 8a, 8b, and 8c are all blank? As if you didn't itemize? Any chance that you have something in line 12b on the 1040 - you know, the charitable contributions that don't get itemized.