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Level 2
posted Feb 28, 2020 7:51:04 AM

TurboTax is forcing me to give Bank FEIN on less than $10 interest.

I did not earn more than $10 interest on a savings account so I was not issued a 1099 INT from my bank. I understand that I am still supposed to report any interest earned to the IRS. In past years, I just typed in the info I could glean from my December statement and TurboTax worked everything out. This year it is requiring me to supply the Bank's FEIN. It keeps flagging the missing FEIN number in the error check. Is there a solution to this?

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1 Best answer
Expert Alumni
Feb 28, 2020 10:39:18 AM

@YonahBOy

 

I did my test again using TurboTax Premier, Online, with the Chrome browser (just like you). I cannot reproduce the screen you are seeing, even trying to import something (of course you can't because I assume that this interest did not come from an institution that TurboTax recognizes.

 

Here is what I did to make it work:

Do a Search (upper right) for 1099-int

Click on the jump-to result

You should see a table of your interest statements

 

Click on the trash can to the right of the one without an FEIN that you want to delete

 

Say YES to the conformation of the delete

 

Click on the Add another 1099-INT

 

Click on “I’ll type it in myself”

 

 

 

Notice that there is no box for Federal Identification Number

 

Enter the name of the source of the interest, pulldown to chose you or your spouse, and enter the amount of the interest

 

On the next screen click on “None of these apply” (if that’s true)

 

 

Note that I took this test through the Federal Review and the Review did not flag this interest source at all, much less for having no FEIN.

 

 

 

17 Replies
Expert Alumni
Feb 28, 2020 8:22:50 AM

Since we cannot see your tax return nor the screen you are on, all we can do is run similar-sounding tests.

 

When I enter interest by hand, I do not get an error in the Federal Review about the missing FEIN.

 

So, a few questions:

1. Did you enter the interest by hand ("I'll type it in manually")?

2. Did you put anything in the FEIN field at all, even if you subsequently blanked it out?

3. Did you see the question "Does this institution have an FEIN?" (sorry, that's not the exact question, but your should recognize it when you see it) - and did you answer "No"?

4. Are you running the Online TurboTax product or the CD/download product? If the latter, Windows or Mac?

Expert Alumni
Feb 28, 2020 8:23:42 AM

One more question: was this missing FEIN in the Federal Review or a state Review?

Level 2
Feb 28, 2020 8:36:33 AM

Thanks for the reply.

 

I'll answer your questions in order:

1. I entered the information manually.

2. I initially left the FEIN field blank. When I received the error, I tried entering all 9s per advice I found in the Intuit forums here. TurboTax returned that as an invalid FEIN.

3. I have not seen a question like that.

4. I am running the online version of TurboTax Premier (using Chrome as a browser).

 

When I click to enter the interest manually I see the following screen:

 

It will not let me file my return without the FEIN. Am I trying to enter the interest in the wrong place? I've done this for years now and never had this problem.

Level 2
Feb 28, 2020 8:37:20 AM

Federal review. I haven't made it to the state stuff yet.

Expert Alumni
Feb 28, 2020 8:51:54 AM

Thanks. I assume that I should ignore the red error message because you just haven't yet told TurboTax whether the interest belongs to you or your spouse, right?

 

I will have to research this a bit because my test was also on the Online Premier product, and I am not seeing the same screen, specifically, I see no request for Payer information.

 

Let me see if I can force this.

Level 2
Feb 28, 2020 9:06:22 AM

The red error in my screenshot above is where I took out information that TurboTax autofilled just for the purposes of giving you a screenshot without posting any personal info.

Expert Alumni
Feb 28, 2020 9:13:14 AM

If you imported the 1099, that can happen. Delete and re-enter by hand. You will not be asked about an EIN.

 

To Delete a Form

Open your return in TurboTax. 

  • In the left side bar, select Tax ToolsTools.
  • In the pop-up window Tool Center, choose Delete a form.
  • Select Delete next to the form/schedule/worksheet and follow the onscreen instructions

 

 

Level 15
Feb 28, 2020 9:22:31 AM


@YonahBOy wrote:

Federal review. I haven't made it to the state stuff yet.


Delete the 1099-INT and re-enter manually.

2019 Premier desktop Windows 10 -

 

 

Level 2
Feb 28, 2020 9:48:39 AM

Thanks for your help and the screenshots. I am using the online version and the second question about whether the Bank provided a FEIN does not come up. The online version's GUI for inputing the Payer's information and the amount also includes a field for the FEIN that I cannot leave blank (see my screenshot above).

 

Thanks again.

Level 15
Feb 28, 2020 10:07:43 AM


@YonahBOy wrote:

Thanks for your help and the screenshots. I am using the online version and the second question about whether the Bank provided a FEIN does not come up. The online version's GUI for inputing the Payer's information and the amount also includes a field for the FEIN that I cannot leave blank (see my screenshot above).

 

Thanks again.


Okay...saw the same as your screenshot.  You can ignore the message to Review for the EIN.  It is not required to e-file your tax return.

Expert Alumni
Feb 28, 2020 10:39:18 AM

@YonahBOy

 

I did my test again using TurboTax Premier, Online, with the Chrome browser (just like you). I cannot reproduce the screen you are seeing, even trying to import something (of course you can't because I assume that this interest did not come from an institution that TurboTax recognizes.

 

Here is what I did to make it work:

Do a Search (upper right) for 1099-int

Click on the jump-to result

You should see a table of your interest statements

 

Click on the trash can to the right of the one without an FEIN that you want to delete

 

Say YES to the conformation of the delete

 

Click on the Add another 1099-INT

 

Click on “I’ll type it in myself”

 

 

 

Notice that there is no box for Federal Identification Number

 

Enter the name of the source of the interest, pulldown to chose you or your spouse, and enter the amount of the interest

 

On the next screen click on “None of these apply” (if that’s true)

 

 

Note that I took this test through the Federal Review and the Review did not flag this interest source at all, much less for having no FEIN.

 

 

 

Level 2
Feb 28, 2020 1:33:59 PM

Thank you for your help. I had already deleted and attempted to reenter the 1099 INT many times. I did it on the screen you posted and from within the Tax Tools section (somewhere on the left menu). I even tried to delete my entire Schedule B and reentered everything. It never worked. There must have been some bug I was encountering that is isolated to my account. I'm no novice with technology in general; sometimes there are just unexplainable gremlins in the system.

 

Since I had not paid for anything yet in the online version, I opted to download the CD/Download version of TurboTax Deluxe and was able to complete my return without suppling the FEIN. Thank you for all your help in trying to figure this problem out. 

Level 1
Feb 29, 2020 7:38:19 PM

I am having this same issue with Online Turbo Tax Deluxe.  I earned less than $10 in dividends from two Credit Unions ($0.18 + $3.74) therefore I did not receive a 1099-DIV from either CU.  TT is requiring the FEINs. I have deleted the forms with the trash can and by  going into forms and starting over, etc., but cannot get around the FEIN requirement.  

Help @BillM223 @ColeenD3 @DoninGA @YonahBOy !

Level 2
Mar 1, 2020 5:09:28 AM

I was never able to solve it using the online version. I ended up paying for the CD/Download version of Deluxe and it let me enter a 1099 INT without a FEIN.

Level 15
Mar 1, 2020 5:17:47 AM


@paxtonlr wrote:

I am having this same issue with Online Turbo Tax Deluxe.  I earned less than $10 in dividends from two Credit Unions ($0.18 + $3.74) therefore I did not receive a 1099-DIV from either CU.  TT is requiring the FEINs. I have deleted the forms with the trash can and by  going into forms and starting over, etc., but cannot get around the FEIN requirement.  

Help @BillM223 @ColeenD3 @DoninGA @YonahBOy !


Leave the FEIN box blank (empty).  Do NOT enter anything in the FEIN box using the online editions.  When completing the tax return, Ignore any

Review

messages for the FEIN on the form and Continue.  The FEIN is not required to e-file a tax return.

New Member
Mar 10, 2022 6:36:56 AM

I had this problem and it took me about 20 minutes, but I finally fixed it once I logged into my bank account on my computer. 

If you can access your bank account on the device you're using, you can find your tax documents with any other documents that your bank saves. You can download the 1099 form and just upload it right into Turbotax without having to type anything in.

New Member
Apr 4, 2024 8:37:42 PM

Yes - contact your bank and ask for their FEIN.