Running TT 2021 deluxe from purchased CD. It thinks it retrieved extension payment from my 2020 return. D id not request an extension last year. How do I fix the error?

[v21hfl]

When first installed, TT had no personal data. I gave it the path to last years return, and it found it and retrieved the carryover info. Don't know where the extension error came from.

[MichelleLO]

Are you still getting an error message?

Are you able to proceed with your 2021 tax return?

[v21hfl]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes, I am able to continue data entry for 2021. It wasn't an error message; TT just said it had retrieved this erroneous 2020(?) data and applied it to my 2021 return. I don't know how this impacted my return, so I don't have a lot of confidence in its accuracy at this pint. Is there a way to identify the input and delete it?

[v21hfl]

Michelle,

I found the TT extension payment message again. After entering estimated payments for 2021, it came back with a screen that said: "We transferred the 2020 federal extension payment you made in 2021. Make any necessary corrections to this amount" and it lists the amount. Two problems - I didn't make an extension payment, and TT doesn't let you change the amount. I can't find that amount listed anywhere in TT 2020 or 2021, or in Quicken for either year. It isn't what I sent IRS as the Jan 2021 estimated payment for 2020, and I was due a refund for 2020, credited to 2021 taxes.

thanks in advance for your help

[JulieS]

Since you are using the Desktop version of the program, you can check to see if any incorrect information was imported into your tax return in Forms mode.

1. Click the white Forms icon toward the upper right corner. 
2. Find Tax Payments on the list on the left.
3. Highlight it, then check the extension information. I would expect this information to show on line 9 or maybe at the bottom, lines 21 through 25. You can edit any of the information that is in the yellow shaded boxes
4. Click on Step by Step in the upper right corner to return to the interview.

[v21hfl]

Julie,

Thanks for the info on FORMS. I had never noticed all the ways the data had been sliced and diced. That's handy. But looking at the numbers for estimated taxes showed all entries OK.

The 2021 return calculations were originally set up to apply the overpayment to 2022 taxes, leaving the refund box at the top of screens reading 0. To help see the impact of making any changes through the forms windows, this was changed to a refund request. I saved the file and exited. When I went back in, the extension payment notification seemed to have disappeared. So I changed the election back to apply to 2022 taxes, saved and exited again. The 2020 extension payment notice came back again, and the amount was the same as the 2021 overpayment to be applied to my 2022 taxes. All this may just be an error in the wording of the notice - it was not related to 2020 taxes, and no extension is planned for 2021. Your thoughts?

[v21hfl]

Julie,

The above is not quite correct. The page "Amount of extension payment made for 2020" shows up whether I choose to receive the refund or apply it to 2022 taxes. If it's applied to taxes, the extension payment page shows the amount to be applied as the amount of extension payment made for 2020. If I choose to take the refund, the amount field is blank.

I went through more of the FORMS tab you pointed out and still do not see any reason TT thinks I made an extension payment for 2020. When I installed the 2021 version, it did not detect the existing TT files. I had to give it a pathname to the (default) dir. It appeared to have pulled in all data correctly after that.

thanks again

[AnnetteB6]

I have been checking into a similar situation reported by another user.  Are you still experiencing the situation you described?

If you would be willing to share a diagnostic copy of your tax file, it could be helpful to examine the situation in more detail.  The diagnostic file will not contain personal identifiable information, only numbers related to your tax forms.

To do so, follow the instructions below and post the token number along with which version of TurboTax you are using in a follow-up thread.

Use these steps if you are using TurboTax Online:

• Sign in to your account and be sure you are in your tax return.
• Select Tax Tools in the menu to the left.
• Select Tools.
• Select Share my file with agent.
• A pop-up message will appear, select OK to send the sanitized diagnostic copy to us.
• Post the token number here. 

If you are using a CD/downloaded version of TurboTax, use these steps:

• Select Online at the top of the screen.
• Select Send Tax File to Agent.
• Click OK.
• Post the token number here.

@v21hfl

[v21hfl]

Annette,

Looks like the problem is still there - depends on whether I choose to apply the 2021 refund to 2022 taxes or not.

964465

[AnnetteB6 · Accepted solution]

Thank you for sharing your token number.  

After digging deeper into this situation with the amount of your refund that you choose to have applied to 2022 also appearing as an amount paid with a 2020 extension, I cannot see that your return is affected in any way. 

The TurboTax help content states that the amount paid with a 2020 extension and the date that it was paid could be used in the calculation for an underpayment penalty.  Your return is not subject to any underpayment penalty, so you should not be concerned about that number being reported in the wrong place.

@v21hfl

[v21hfl]

Hi Annette,

Thanks for digging into this for me. If the amount of my refund is correct whether received directly or applied to 2022 taxes, maybe this anomaly doesn't matter.

It does sound like it is something TT should clean up though. The only thing I can think of is that TT thinks my payment for 2020 taxes was late because it was filed in May 2021, so I must have had an extension. Wasn't the filing deadline extended, not just a grace period created? If so, TT should have known that. Perhaps I missed an update, or this theory is off the mark.

In any case, thanks for the help. It sounds like the 2021 return can go forward as is.

v21hfl