"Covered by a retirement plan at work" selection changes each time I re-open my Return file

[mimi01]

I am self-employed and not "covered by a retirement plan at work."  I indicated this accordingly during the IRA step-by-step, which resulted in the calculation of a certain level of Traditional IRA deductibility and refund due to me.  After e-filing my return and exiting the file, I re-opened my return to check on the filing status and noticed that the refund due had changed (decreased) versus what I presumably had submitted, which was concerning.  I noticed that when I go back through the IRA step-by-step and indicate once again that I am not "covered by a retirement plan at work," the IRA deduction and refund amount recalculates to what I had submitted (or think I had submitted).  This is disconcerting that the calculation should change when I close and re-open the file.  Is there a way to "lock-in" the selection to ensure that my file reflects the final version that I believe I submitted for filing?  Also, is there a way to confirm what was actually submitted for the e-filing?

[BrittanyS]

If your return has been submitted, the amounts should stay the same as what was submitted when you reopen the file.  You can check the return that was submitted by following these steps:

1. Sign in to your TurboTax account and open your return by selecting Continue or Pick up where you left off
2. Select Tax Tools from the left menu, then Print Center (on mobile devices, tap in the upper left corner to expand the menu)
3. Select Print, save, or preview this year's return, and follow any additional instructions
4. Once your PDF opens in Adobe Acrobat Reader, select the printer icon near the top
5. Make any adjustments in the Print window and then select Print at the bottom

If you review the return and it looks different from what you submitted, please respond to this thread.

[mimi01]

@BrittanyS -- thanks for your reply.  First, I am working on the desktop version of Premier, so I'm not sure the instructions you outline below apply in the same way.  However, I just tried exiting TurboTax and then opening the file again. and I'm seeing the same changes (i.e., Refund due shows less than what I had submitted).  I went to the IRA Contributions Worksheet, and a number of entries had changed versus what I had submitted, including a checkmark under "Check if covered by a retirement plan at work" as well as changed amounts under "Nondeductible traditional IRA contributions from worksheet" (it was erroneously showing my Roth election in this box).  When I run through the Step-by-Step section for Traditional and Roth IRA contributions and input the responses I had previously made in the version I submitted/filed, the IRA Contributions Worksheet and Refund due match what I had submitted.  The values/entries are definitely changing between when I close out the file/exit TurboTax and re-open it.  This is concerning, in my 25+ years of using TurboTax I've not seen this before.

[BrittanyS]

To print your return in Desktop follow these steps:

1. Open the return you want to print
2. From the File menu (or TurboTax menu if you're on a Mac), choose Print
3. In the pop-up window, select the form set you want to print (tax return, specific forms, etc.) and then select Preview Print Copy (on Mac, select your print options and then select Continue)
4. Your forms will open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Select the "printer" icon from the menu to open the print window, and then after making any adjustments in the window, select Print at the bottom

Review the return and respond back if the figures you entered do not match what is listed when you filed your return.  

[mimi01]

@BrittanyS - I followed your instructions below, and I can confirm that the figures do not match what I had entered when I filed my return.  Furthermore, figures on the 1040 form do not match the summary that is shown on the Filing Instructions page/cover sheet (the Filing Instructions summary does match what I had submitted but the 1040 & Schedule 1 do not).

[ThomasM125 · Accepted solution]

It might be that box 13 on your W-2 form that says Retirement Plan is checked. By default, that would mean that you were covered by a retirement plan at work. It may be that you are overiding that when you answer the questions in the retirement plan contribution section in TurboTax, but it is reverting back to the default position when you log out of your program. Either way, if you review the copy of the return that you submitted and determine that it was correct as filed, you won't need to do anything further as far as filing your return is concerned.

The only way to determine for sure what return was e-filed is to request a transcript of your return from the IRS as follows: 

Request transcript

[mimi01]

Thank you @ThomasM125, it does seem to be the case that the W-2 Box 13 is checked.  This is odd, because on the paper copy of the W-2 Box 13 is not checked--this would have been brought in during the import of the W-2.  I'm not sure why the imported input would be different from the paper copy that was generated and sent to me.  In any case, this seems to have addressed the issue--when I un-check Box 13 and save the return file, the next time I open the file the amount doesn't change from what was filed.  Thank you!