UNABLE TO PRINT OR EFILE RETURNS

[Periwinkle65]

I received the message that I could not e-file since I used the simplified AMT for foreign credits. I am hoping to somehow correct this problem. Meanwhile, I tried to print several important forms. Each attempt at printing is met with a pop-up that the task cannot be completed due to an unknown error and that TT must shut down, perhaps losing data. 

      I have experienced ongoing crashes with TT without explanation. So far, TT agents have been unable to assist! 

         While I am not yet ready to file, I am worried that I might be blocked in doing so by these "bugs." Please advise what action can be taken. I have been using TT for about 10 years and have never experienced such difficulties. 

[EbonyA]

I would suggest contacting support via phone so that they can assist with troubleshooting these issues; if you do not already have the phone number, it can be found here.

[Periwinkle65]

Thank you for your response. I have contacted support via phone 3 times about the intermittent crashes.  One suggested that I do my taxes over again which would have erased 2 months of work. A second specialist  promised that the problem would be corrected by applying a Windows 10 up-date. A third specialist devoted a lot of time to reading manuals. She said that there was no solution and that such crashes could be expected routinely when using any computer program! 

I have been managing by periodically going online, clicking on the update option which automatically saves my return. 

The problem with inability to print forms is new. I don't know if this will continue if I need to print my return for mailing. I am hoping that TT will fix the problem with filing foreign taxes using the simplified AMT so that I can e-file to avoid a last-minute inability to print. 

It would be helpful to know if TT will, in fact, correct this problem. If not, we need to know asap. 

Thanks for your response. I'm not sure what to do further. If I call TT should I ask that the problem/s be escalated to a supervisor? Thanks again.

[SusanY1]

I would like to look a little further into this issue for you.

To do this most effectively, I need a bit more information from you.  Please respond to this post with the version of TurboTax that you are using (Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business) and also token number which is retrieved by following these steps: 

1. Open your return in the TurboTax software.
2. Click on the Online menu across the top.
3. Select Send Tax File to Agent in the drop down menu.
4. Click on the blue Send button.

A six-digit token number will then appear, which you can safely post here.  This token allows only authorized TurboTax employees to access a data file that has removed all of your personally identifying information. 

This diagnostic file will allow us to work with the return to see if we can produce a temporary workaround for you and it also can be forwarded to our technical team for research as well. 

I will focus first on working for a solution for you, and then I will work with developers on a potential solution for the program itself, as necessary.

I will keep an eye on this post throughout the day today and tomorrow and we'll try to get back with you as quickly as possible once you can provide this information.  

If you can think of anything else that may be pertinent to the issue, please feel free to provide that as well.  Just be sure not to post any private, personal information here. 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Susan Y.

TurboTax Community Lead 

[Periwinkle65]

Susan, 

SUMMARY

  USING DISK OF TT PREMIER 2020 (PURCHASED AMAZON)

  ERROR WITH ATTEMPT TO SEND FORM TO AGENT

  ANOTHER DATA DUMP LAST NIGHT

  CURRENT ISSUES: TRYING TO ERASE AND CORRECT 8449 WORKSHEET

                                     WORK-AROUND 1116 E-FILE

                                      SEARCHING FOR DATA LOST IN LAST DUMP
Thanks for your willingness to help. I followed your instructions 4 times to send my tax file. After clicking on the blue rectangle, the program signaled that it was removing personal information. Then, the message popped up that the file could not be sent because it was not a tax file or was from a previous year! 

Back to the on-going issue, yesterday I lost hours of data as the program closed without saving. It even seems that I may have lost what I filled in before I clicked on the online update tab (which automatically saves a copy)-- not sure. In any case, my refund reversed by about $4000. -- back to where I was 2 days ago. 

I am also struggling to alter the situation with Form 1116 so that I can e-file. (There is even a problem with printing forms!) I was advised to eliminate "various" from listing of countries, but doing so would required perhaps 20 additional columns. (I even tried listing a single country-- same problem).

My next chore is to determine how I can alter the 8949 worksheet so that it is in synch with that form. My error this time, as I filled in the data prior to allowing the form to populate through the interview. 

As you might imagine, I am very discouraged with proceeding and then having to take 2 steps back to re-do the data which is arbitrarily dumped. I began my taxes the end of December so this has been going on a long time. 

         Of personal note, I will be away from my desk all-day tomorrow.

        I appreciate in advance your assistance. 

Jean 

[SusanY1]

I am sorry that it was not able to send the tax file.  This works in most cases, but since it's not working for you now we will have to try other things.

First - for the 1116 issue try "RIC" (near the top of the list) instead of Various.  While it specifically refers to "Registered Investment Company" - generally mutual funds where there are multiple countries often listed - it will accomplish the same thing as "Various" and should allow for e-filing.   Alternately, you could choose the country that represents the most significant portion of the income represented. 

Maintain your records that list the details should the ever be requested but they will not affect your numbers unless you have income from prohibited countries (Cuba, North Korea) or from countries that require additional special handling (and this is highly unusual for the TurboTax user.) 

For the 8949 - if you would like to completely start that process over switch to Forms mode by clicking on Forms in the upper right.  Find the form and any associated worksheets in the column on the left, click on the form, and then select Delete form near the bottom of the page.  

Next, for the other technical issues.  I am not certain what steps you may have already tried with other agents, so I apologize if anything I suggest is redundant.  

These are the next steps that I would like for you to try, when you return and are able to do so:

1. While you have your tax return open, select File, then Save As and save a copy of your return so that we have a backup to return to should anything from here forward cause a problem.  If possible, save this file (or an additional copy of this file) to an external source such as a cloud folder (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) or a thumb drive.  Give this file a different name so that it is easily identified.  (If you have prepared more than one return in TurboTax this year, such as for other family members, do the same for those files as well.)
2. Close the TurboTax program.
3. Assuming that you have the physical CD and a CD-ROM drive, uninstall the TurboTax program from your computer.  In most versions of Windows, you can do this from the Control Panel.  
   1. To get to the Control Panel, type Control Panel in the search bar in the bottom left of your Windows screen and press enter.
   2. From Control Panel choose Uninstall a program under Programs.
   3. Highlight TurboTax 2020 in the list and then select Uninstall/Change in the menu bar.
   4. After the program has completely uninstalled, reboot the machine. 
   5. Reinstall the program.
   6. Allow the program to run updates.  This may take a while.  Updating in this manner sometimes gives a better result than the piece-by-piece updating that has been taking place since your initial installation. (I don't know why.)
   7. Once the program has installed completely, reboot the machine again.
   8. Now open your tax file - the program should have saved your original file and will automatically find it.  If it didn't, then you can search for the back up that you created earlier. 

This should fix many of the issue that you are having with the technical things such as printing, data dumps, etc.  

Unfortunately, I have not yet found a way to search for any data that didn't save unless there is an additional ".tax" file that may have been created.  You can try searching for files of that format on your hard drive to see if that yields any results.  

If you are able at this point to generate the token by using the "send fie to agent" option, please feel free to do so as it may still help us to identify any lingering issues and to further troubleshoot as needed. 

I am sorry this has been such a frustrating process this year.  I believe a new install and single (long) update will eliminate some of this frustration.  Keep me posted as you can, and I'll continue to check back for updates.  

[Periwinkle65]

Thank you for your kind and detailed follow-up. 

Meanwhile, an agent had me switch to an on-line program. So far this has eliminated the "bugs" which have plagued me for months! 

The "final check" did not warn that I could not e-file! Can I now count on the IRS accepting the e-file or could that be a separate problem? 
No error shows up so far when I use "various" to designate numerous countries. I will also have a separate column for mutual funds, 

I will need to fill in the data again for Form 8949 which was dumped yesterday using the interview form. I have yet to look for the form with contradictory information. If that remains, I will delete it as you suggest. I am assuming that it will re-populate with some additional data when I produce a new, blank form? 

Tomorrow I will be away from my desk, resuming taxes on Thursday. 

Again, thanks for watching out for me.....I did try to send you the return when the new software was installed. It did go through, but I was distracted so as to miss copying the number. When I tried again it failed. 

[Periwinkle65]

I was finally able to send my tax file. The number associated is 811443. Whew! That is progress. 

Regards, 

J.

[SusanY1]

Thank you!  Give me a little time to work with that file and see what I can discover for you.  

[SusanY1]

I am glad that going through the online program has helped you so far.  There have been a few issues this year with filing returns with Form 1116 (the foreign tax credit.)  

We do have some folks working on the issue, with no current ETA.  You can sign up HERE to be notified when updates are made that affect the e-filing functions of this form. You may want to go ahead and sign up, just in case you run into issues when you file.  I hope that won't be the case for you- but this way you won't have to come back to find the place to sign up if you do!

I spent a little time with the file that you sent this evening and I did see some limited data in the 8949 and other related entries and I wanted to offer a few tips for data in this area that might save you some time.

1. For customers like you who have a large number of transactions to enter on Schedule D/8949 it can often save a lot of time and frustration to use the summary entry features allowed by the IRS.  To do this, you would skip importing the forms and choose the option "I'll  type them in myself."  You will then select "I'll enter a summary for each sales category."  
   1. Do this once for each brokerage firm.  You will have a maximum of 5 entries per firm this way.  The one drawback is that you will have to mail in a supplemental form to the IRS (even though you can still e-file).  The supplemental form is required when some of your transactions are in the categories that show "basis not reported to IRS" or "uncategorized."  It apears that you have these. TurboTax will generate the cover form that you need and then you simply attach your 1099-B forms to it and mail it in later.  I highly recommend this approach - it can reduce errors and stress and save significant time, even if it does require a little postage!
2. If you don't choose to go this route keep in mind that you can use "Various" for acquisition dates on entries where the dates are missing, to save some time as well.  You will then need to select whether a transaction is long term or short term.  These are almost always long term- long enough ago that the records weren't kept as they are now when it is rare to be missing this information.

I hope some of this is helpful in addition to the switch to the online program.  You may be good to go from here, but if not, do come back as I will still check back in to see how things are going when I'm here. 

[Periwinkle65]

Thanks for your detailed assistance. 

Unfortunately, the problem with the TT program crashing has begun again! If I don’t save immediately any data added to my forms, I risk losing the information as the program unexpectedly closes. I again spoke ti a TT support person who told me that numerous customers were experiencing the same problem. It is yet to be fixed. 

As you know, I have spent weeks of having to re-enter lost data and never being entirely certain that I have covered all the omissions. Now that the deadline is approaching, I am wanting some certainty that there won’t be further delays with a rejected return. 

i have used Form 1116 and have had to list “various” for countries as they are too numerous to mention, Will this automatically lead to the IRS rejecting my e-file? 

Please advise as to this critical issue as I may not have time or ink to print my return if rejected. 

Thank you for your kind follow up.