Analysis on Review: A Persistent Error and a False One

[beanorama]

After completing a draft of my taxes, I ran the Turbotax's Review. It "found" two errors that are problematic.

Persistent Error. The analysis says I have an unacceptable number ($300) in my Charitable contributions on 1040/1040SR worksheet (line 12b). I agree that would be in error, so I changed it (to the $600 to which we're entitled as married filing jointly). I confirmed that my edited amounts appear in the Forms view. I then saved the file, closed TurboTax, launched TurboTax again, reopened the file, checked in Forms view that the $600 is showing correctly. I then ran the Review again and the error returned. I can do this repeatedly (eventually I stopped expecting a different result). TurboTax is changing the number and then telling me I've done it wrong. It's pretty darned annoying to have my tax preparation software gaslighting me.

False Error: TurboTax is telling me that I've failed to enter Advance payments on Schedule 8812. We don't use Schedule 8812; we have no dependents and aren't entitled to any credits claimed on that form. I've done nothing knowingly to add Schedule 8812 to my return. I've confirmed that Schedule 8812 does not appear anywhere in Form view. But TurboTax repeatedly informs me that I've got Schedule 8812 in my packet and haven't filled it out completely. I'd remove it, but I can't delete a form that doesn't exist except in TurboTax's over-active imagination. 

How can I get TurboTax to stop finding and creating these errors?

[KrisD15]

 
There will be plenty of returns with no dependents filing for Tax Year 2021 for Taxpayers who DID get advance child payments.

The 2021 Tax Year return is being used to reconcile those payments. 

The software should have asked if you received any payments in the interview, but if you bypassed that it may need to verify that information during review.  

I suggest you report no advance payments received and move on. 

The software should not imply that you are entitled to additional credits. 

For the Charitable Contribution, this procedure worked last year. I am not yet able to test it for Tax Year 2021, but it might be of assistance.

Go to Step-By-Step input (top right corner of screen)

Click Federal

Click Deductions & Credits along the top

Click “I’ll choose what I work on”

Edit or Update Donations to Charity in 2020 if needed, then click “Done with Charitable Donations”

Scroll down the “Your 2021 Deductions & Credits” screen and click “Done with Deductions”

Click Continue on the “Let’s Check Your Deductions and Credits” screen

Continue through the following interview questions until you get to the “Here Are Your 2021 Deductions & Credits” screen

Click Continue

If the next screen says “The Standard deduction is Right for You!” click Continue

ON THE NEXT SCREEN enter the cash contribution made in 2021 up to $ 300 or ( $600 Married Filing Jointly) and click Continue

Your 1040 should update

[beanorama1]

@KrisD15Thanks for the response.

I hadn't gone through the questions you mentioned about credits before because we don't have any. So I went back to make it ask me all those irrelevant questions so I could tell it "no." And now the references on Review to the phantom Child Tax Credit are gone. But that's a serious error that TurboTax, without any user direction, presumes that I have credits and forces the form (yet doesn't provide it to be deleted).

I can't fix the donation error. I tried the process you describe, but it doesn't match my interface; I think what you've described is from a different version of TurboTax.

I can correct the amount to the correct $600 directly on line 12b on the 1040/1040SR Wks in the Forms view, then save the file.  On relaunching, the amount is still showing on that line in that form correctly. So far so good. But when I then run the Review again, on its own it replaces my correct $600 with the incorrect $300.

At this point I'll have to remember the workaround, and after my last use of the Review function, remember to manually correct the amount on line 12b and save it without running the Review again.

[Critter-3]

This year EVERYBODY will get the questions on the advance CTC payments and the third stimulus payment since both need to be reconciled on the return.  So if you did not get any CTC for any reason simply say no.  This is not meant to be insulting  but just being through. 

[beanorama1]

I can't be any more clear than I've already been: TurboTax DID NOT ASK ME.

Might try reading before responding next time. This is not meant to be insulting, but just being thorough.

[KrisD15]

Thank you for that information. 

The change from 300 to 600 for Married Filing Jointly was made in September, so it is possible that the desktop software will need to go through an online update for that.

The number of questions that the software needs to ask can seem annoying to those that know what they want, and need, to report. Since you are more aware of your tax situation than most, it is understandable that you would question why TurboTax was asking about a form that has nothing to do with you. 

There have been quite a few changes made late in the season, and the way the software is adjusted to reflect the tax change is not always perfect. That's why we're here, to try to address the concerns and questions of our customers when the software does not seem to make sense. 

Thank you for using TurboTax. 

[beanorama]

@KrisD15 Thank you for the response. I will wait for these errors to be fixed.

[pldemars]

I was told to deleted the charitable organization worksheets ( I had already entered my charitable donations) and to removed the $300 on line 12b.  I then went through the screens until I got to Charitable Cash Contributions under cares act and I entered $600 (married filing jointly) and the everything worked just fine .... no error message.  When I went to file my Arizona state tax we are allowed to itemize deductions and there were no charitable deductions because I deleted them ... I lost out on $849 in charitable contributions.  There needs to be a way that I can enter charitable contributions on the federal form and choose standard deduction, enter the $600 and still have those contributions available for my AZ state tax.

[beanorama]

@pldemars Thanks. I'll see if that works for me, too (not having state income tax, I won't have that part of your problem).

[Chris_Lee_69]

Yes, I’m getting the exact same thing with the charitable contribution error. If you are married and filing jointly, and taking the standard deduction, TurboTax will erroneously fill in $300 every time you run the check for errors. This should be $600 for those who are married, filing jointly, and taking the standard deduction. You can manually enter $600 and that will then pass the first error check. However, if you rerun the error check at some point, TurboTax will again erroneously populate the field with $300 and show it as an invalid entry. This is a pretty obvious bug that one would think would be caught in quality control testing. It certainly needs to be fixed pronto.

[TiffanyL]

Please see the workaround provided by expert Jotika in the following FAQ link provided below for the charitable contribution error:

How do I report this Charitable Contributions BUG???

[MMcCants]

Mere "workarounds" are UNACCEPTABLE.  It's FEB 4 and TT is not even acknowledging that they need to fix this BLUNDER???

[Kennepede]

Same concern here. I have encountered both of those bugs today, spending about two hours troubleshooting. Based on posts to community I was able to work around the bugs, but it appears from the posts that the charitable deductions bug is a regression from the 2020 app.

[beanorama1]

@Kennepede @MMcCants I just ran TurboTax again. Somehow the bug has automagically disappeared. I can run the reviews and the correct amount of line 12b contributions is claimed. Apparently the bug got fixed, though no one from Intuit mentioned that here.