Vehicle for business use - changes answer

[jyeh74]

I don’t understand why this is happening.  Under business expense, you can enter vehicle expenses.  There is a question that asks if you purchased the car new.

yes I bought it new

no I bought it used

if I select the 2nd answer, how come when I revisit it, it goes back to the 1st answer?  Even when taking actual costs, the numbers change.

[JamesG1]

You may claim vehicle expenses against self-employment income when reporting on Schedule C Profit or Loss from business.

You may claim a standard mileage rate or actual expenses for vehicle expenses.  One of the actual expenses available is vehicle depreciation.

The software is asking about a new vehicle because  a form of accelerated depreciation may be permitted with a new vehicle versus a used vehicle.  The questions are trying to determine whether you would qualify for the accelerated depreciation.

If the numbers are changing, have you accepted the Section 179 deduction or Special Depreciation?

In TurboTax Online Premium, when I return to the screen Did you purchase your {vehicle} new, the software continues to reflect Yes, I purchased this vehicle new.

Is this the screen that you are asking about?

@jyeh74   [Edited 02/21/24 | 5:20 pm PST]

[jyeh74]

@JamesG1 yes but why is it that when I select car is purchased used, I go through the screen selections until the end.  When I revisit the questions to make sure that they correctly saved, this particular question highlights yes, car is purchased new?  It didn’t save the answer?  Or a glitch.

[jyeh74]

@JamesG1 yes that is the screen.  It keeps reverting back to “yes, I purchased this vehicle new.”  Even though I selected “No, this vehicle was used when I bought it”.  

Another question that keeps changing is.

Did you document the miles you drove for this business?

Yes, I tracked my work miles.

No, I didn’t 

Did you track the miles you drove for personal stuff?

Yes, I tracked my personal stuff.

No, I didn’t.

No matter what I select, when I come back, it will default for “No, I didn’t” for both questions.  All the other questions saved except these two questions above, and the new vs used vehicle question.  So these three questions can't save or TT just defaults back (glitch) for some reason.  Please let me know if other users are experiencing this also.  Thank you

[MarilynG1]

No, haven't heard of other users experiencing your exact issue.  Because we can't see your return in this forum, and because there are infinite number of user computer/internet configurations, all we can do is offer suggestions that may help.

If you Contact TurboTax Support, they can actually get into your computer to diagnose the issue.

Try a different browser, clear your Cache and Cookies, delete/re-enter vehicle info from scratch, make sure no large programs are running in the background (like email), are some things you can try. 

Here's more info on Using a Vehicle for Business. 

@jyeh74