Schedule 1, Line 17 incorrectly adding rounded monthly insurance premiums (instead of adding monthly premiums first and then rounding)

[SS77771]

Schedule 1, Line 17 is linked to my 1095-A.  Per my 1095-A, I paid monthly premiums of $412.29.  Multiply by 12 months, the amount should be $4,947.48 (rounded down to $4,947). 

However, my Schedule 1, Line 17 says $4,944.  Apparently, Turbotax is rounding down the monthly premium of $412.29 to $412.00, then multiplying by 12, resulting in $4,944.  It's "only" a $3 difference and probably inconsequential in terms of tax owed, but it would be nice if the program reported the correct amount on Schedule 1, Line 17. 

Notably, the correct amount ($4,947) is reported on Line 11(a) on Form 8962.  It would be nice if the program could do the same for Schedule 1, Line 17.

[AmyC]

The IRS requires that all lines be rounded to the nearest dollar so the program must round the amounts. If you want to add a dollar on 3 of the lines for the totals to match up, that is fine.

[SS77771]

Thank you for the response.  Very interesting that, for the entry at Schedule 1, Line 17, the IRS requires rounding of each monthly premium and then adding the 12 rounded amounts, rather than first adding all the monthly premiums and then rounding the total of them; but that the IRS does not require the same for Line 11(a) on Form 8962.  Seems to me that Schedule 1, Line 17 and Form 8962, Line 11(a) should match.  In fact, Form 1095-A, Line 33A ("Annual Totals") does NOT round each monthly premium and then add up the total; instead, Form 1095-A, Line 33A reports the total of the actual, unrounded monthly premiums.  Seems a glitch in TurboTax that it first rounds each monthly premium and then adds up the total. 

Thanks again.

[NM1]

@AmyC, I'm sorry, but your statement is incorrect. The IRS does not require rounding; they just want you to be consistent about it, and never use rounding during calculations. See https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i1040gi#en_US_2023_publink24811vd0e4579  [bolded emphasis mine]

"Rounding Off to Whole Dollars

  You can round off cents to whole dollars on your return and schedules. If you do round to whole dollars, you must round all amounts. To round, drop amounts under 50 cents and increase amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next dollar. For example, $1.39 becomes $1 and $2.50 becomes $3.

  If you have to add two or more amounts to figure the amount to enter on a line, include cents when adding the amounts and round off only the total.

  If you are entering amounts that include cents, make sure to include the decimal point. There is no cents column on the form."

Rounding *during* calculations is actually a *bug*, and the general rounding behavior in TT should be addressed so that it is optional, as the IRS allows.

Thank you.

[SS77771]

@NM1, I greatly appreciate your response.  Now I feel like I'm not going crazy.  Hopefully TurboTax fixes this bug soon.  I am frustrated with them for not giving my question any serious attention.

[NM1]

I wouldn't hold your breath. The IRS' own published instructions on rounding have been quoted in several forum discussions about this problem (threads initiated by people finding it in different places) since tax year 2019, when the rounding behavior of TT changed even though the IRS instructions have not. That's also when the TT error of rounding numbers before doing calculations appeared, in violation of IRS instructions. Whether or not they make overall rounding optional, as the IRS does, the calculation problem 100% needs fixing.

Likewise, it's when Intuit support staff started recommending that customers fudge their numbers to make the totals match, even though the problem is caused by TT's error. Many people here (including me) have objected to the "fudge it" strategy since we are required to sign our tax returns and affirm that all the information is accurate and complete. The responsibility for lying about that is on us, not on Intuit, whether the IRS is likely to call us out on it or not. And it is causing actual problems with the IRS in some cases.