My return was rejected for some issues with my HSA contribution vs distributions. How long do I need to wait to file again?

[DawnC]

You can file again now if your return is rejected, but fix whatever the problem is with the HSA first.   Is there an error message?

[glennrice91]

This is the message I received after filing:

F8889-010 - Form 8889, 'TotalHSADeductionAmt' must be equal to the smaller of 'HSAContributionAmt' or 'HSALimitedContributionAmt'.

I fixed the HSA information and refiled, I was immediately notified that my return was again rejected. 

[BillM223]

I believe that "F8889-010 - Form 8889, 'TotalHSADeductionAmt' must be equal to the smaller of 'HSAContributionAmt' or 'HSALimitedContributionAmt'." is saying that on the 8889, line 13 must be equal to the smaller of line 2 or 12.

Is it possible that you had excess contributions from 2022 that carried over to be applied to 2023? 

Can you see your 2023 form 8889? If so, what is the value for lines 2, 12, and 13?

[wjkaper]

@BillM223 , I'm having the same error as @glennrice91 with my tax return getting rejected. I do have the scenario you are describing - Excess contributions from 2022 carrying over into 2023 with no contributions in 2023. 

My values:
2 - $0
12 - $1292
13 - $1217

Is the fix to manually change line 13 to zero, or do we just have to wait for the fix so TurboTax calculates 13 correctly?

[BillM223]

No, making line 13 equal to zero, would be wrong. Line 2 is actually $1,217 (the amount you carried over). It's just that the IRS instructions are non-existent on how to handle the carryover on the 8889.

On the 8889, it is treated as a personal contribution (hence, on line 2), but the instructions don't call for it to be printed there.

The calculations have been this way for years (I have been doing HSA questions for 8 years), and the only problem was when taxpayers looked at the 8889 and saw the discrepancy - it filed just fine. This is the first time it has ever caused a problem with filing...

I will look at it.

[wjkaper]

Thanks for the fast follow-up @BillM223 . I'll just wait until I hear either Turbotax fixed it so I can re-run it all or you write back with a manual workaround to make it do whatever it needs to do 🙂 

Out of curiosity, would this form issue have any sort of ripple-effect back in the 1040 or is something self-contained as an error on the worksheet?

[BillM223]

"Out of curiosity, would this form issue have any sort of ripple-effect back in the 1040 or is something self-contained as an error on the worksheet?"

No, this is just a presentation issue on the 8889, all the numbers on the 1040 are correct.

***

While we are on the subject of this issue, I need to ask a favor from you:

In order to pursue this issue and its rectification, I need a token from you. A token is a pointer to your tax data in our data base. However, the process of creating a token "sanitizes" your return so that all the personally identifiable information is removed. But I will need a sample return (but from a customer) in order to follow through with this. 

The instructions below tell you how to create the token and send it to me. Thanks!

Online

• Log into your TurboTax Online tax return
• On the left, click on Tax Tools
• Under Tax Tools, click on Tools
• In Tools Center, click on Share my File with Agent
• TurboTax will give you a “token”, a 6-digit number
• Post the token number in this thread
• Be sure to add to that post “@” “billm223” (without the space in between) so that I will be notified

Desktop

• Open your return in the desktop product
• Look along the top and click on Online
• Click on Send Tax File to Agent
• TurboTax will give you a “token”, a 6-digit number
• Post the token number in this thread
• Be sure to add to that post “@” “billm223” (without the space in between) so that I will be notified

@wjkaper 

[wjkaper]

@BillM223 my token is 1170434. If you can manually fix my issue while you research fixing the app, feel free to re-submit 😄

Thanks,
Bill

[FlyinLion]

Same issue, but nothing happens in the app when I click "Fix this issue"

I end up here. I attached screenshot. My question is, is TurboTax going to fix it or do I need to after the 9th? The app said I overcontributed and asked if I wanted to withdraw, but then said I can't because it was from the year before. So I put no, but I was very careful calculating my limits and they changed in 2022, I think. We have to pay to file with TurboTax if we have HSAs, but then they mess it up... I can send you a token as well, if you want to review mine as well. I really don't think I entered anything wrong... I'm just confused about what to do next. Do I start the entire return over? Thanks for your help.

[wjkaper]

@FlyinLion  There is an issue in that form that you won't be able to fix. I just provided @BillM223 a token to my anonymized return so he can look into the issue - sounds like he knows what is happening and is just trying to figure out why it's happening. 

From what I'm pulling together, the form, while not impacting the overall 1040 calculations/results, is failing the IRS's validation which is kicking back the return on e-file. Once TT fixes the issue, we will be able to resubmit. 

[dmertz]

I agree the that instructions for Form 8889 do not address how to report applying a previous year's excess contribution to the current year.  TurboTax has always just added to line 13 the amount present on Form 5329 line 43.  However, IRS checking of Form 8889 now appears to expect the excess being applied to be included on line 2, considered to be a contribution for 2023 made on the HSA owner's behalf, in addition to including it on Form 5329 line 43.  It's certainly not clear if this was intentional on the part of the IRS or an oversight on their part when adding this math checking to Form 8889.

[Justanotherphil]

So, is this an irs issue, or a turbotax programming bug? Support was not helpful and stated "the irs isn't accepting this form for efile yet" even though the irs website states otherwise..... 

Curious as to why we have to wait until Feb 9 to retry... Intuit should be more transparent here. 

[dmertz]

"So, is this an irs issue, or a turbotax programming bug?"

It's a disconnect between what the IRS is now expecting and what TurboTax is providing and has provided for many years.  To me it would make sense for TurboTax to make the change to accommodate the IRS, but that isn't necessarily how it will be resolved.  The change that TurboTax would need to make would be to add the amount from Form 5329 line 43 to Form 8889 line 2 instead of line 13.

At present, the only way to be able to use TurboTax to file without the IRS flagging a problem would be to use the CD/download version of TurboTax to override line 2 of Form 8889 and add the amount from Form 5329 line 43, then override line 13 of Form 8889 to subtract back off that same amount, then print and mail the tax return.

[wjkaper]

@BillM223 can you confirm you saw my post with the ID you requested?