Allocating Tax Exempt Interest Dividends to Multiple States in TT Business

[pgmgate]

The Business program does not seem to have a feature to allow you to allocate Tax Exempt Interest Dividends (from Form 1099-DIV) to multiple states for State Returns as does the Home & Business program.  There is a link after you enter the data that says "if you are required to file a state return, please see these specific instructions", but when you click on it, the pop-up says "There is no help content for this context".  Has anyone else encountered this problem and do you have a solution or a workaround.

[tagteam]

Have you tried Forms Mode? 

[pgmgate]

Yes I have tried to do it in the forms mode as well.  The same difference exists there.  In H&B, you will see all the entries for state specific figures, but in Business there is only one box and you can enter a specific state or "more than one state", but then, there is no way to allocate across specific states.  The same issue has been in the program for years and I got tired of dealing with it in the state returns so I thought I would raise it up and see if TT would react and issue and update that fixes it.  The CS people on the phone are not helpful for this issue.  I haven't gotten to a software expert in TT who I can talk to so I thought I would try here.

[batd4dun]

I have found the same issue.  The only solution I have found is overriding the calculated field in the state tax return.  Not sure why TT Business provides a link to "special instructions", but the link takes you to a screen that says there is no help content available. 

[tagteam]

In Forms Mode, you can enter a variety of states on the Interest and Dividend Income Worksheet.

[batd4dun]

Thanks for the information.  Perhaps this could be linked to the instructions in TT Business.

[pgmgate]

Thanks.  Yes, I see that you can basically manually break up the aggregate amount, but I also have Private Activity Bonds associated with the total which are more difficult to break down across the states.  That not might be that important, but it is an issue for me.

Regardless, they have a very ease to use interface in the interview section in the Home & Business program (and I assume the other personal tax programs) for this process, but have not put the same thing in Business.  This is just one of many limitations in the Business program I have noticed over the years.

I have concluded they don't spend as much time refining this program as the others...which I assume are more popular.

Too bad.

Thanks again.

PGM

[scialtax]

Did you ever get a resolution to this problem?

[pgmgate]

Not really. I have used work arounds in past years and will do so again this year.  I am hoping that my comments and those of others will cause TT to spend more time on their Business program to make it more user friendly as there other home programs are.  

[scialtax]

Thank you.  Same issue every year for me too.