The issue of "virtual currency check boxes" popped up in the pre-filing review of my return. This was never addressed earlier in the process or did I miss it?

[KathrynG3]

It depends. In TurboTax Online, there is a special section to enter cryptocurrency transactions. Click the link to verify your input: How do I enter cryptocurrency?

If you are using TurboTax Desktop, click this link: How to enter cryptocurrency on the downloaded version.

[lynnusher]

Responses are geared to the tiny proportion of filers who conducted business transactions involving virtual currency.  Since it was salient to them, they would have focused on this issue in the course of completing their returns.

I am one of the 99.999% of filers whose income and deductions did not involve virtual currency.  As a result, the first time the issue arises is when an error is found in the final review of the return, just prior to filing it.  It comes completely out of the blue and requires time and effort to learn about and deal with the issue.  The error message is so vaguely worded that it is unclear what is being asked and what is the appropriate box to be checked.  TT should provide more information to the many customers who will encounter this obstacle to filing their returns.

[gideonjeff]

Well said Lynn, I experienced this as well and I would call it a bug in the program since during the process of the entering of data, I never touched virtual currency topics.  I plan to wait a bit to see if an update covers it.  -jeff

[RealRiderJohn]

After reading your guidance, I posit this annoyance that a large number of TT users will experience seems to be a TT problem that could be fixed. In the desktop version (the only version I am familiar with), in Wages and Income section, if we choose what to work on, rather than have TT walk us through everything, and we skip investment income because we don't have any to report, then TT's default behavior should check the no virtual currency box automagically. Instead, TT reports an error and forces the user to decipher a cryptic error message and fails to provide an informational note explaining what it is and what to do. This is inconsistent with TT's mainly thorough coverage of these things. Please, TT, fix this.