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Originally posted by Anush:

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Anush, Thank you. This is exactly what is happening. I just can't figure out how to make TurboTax reflect this.

That is why you give it to a professional. I do not try to be an Engineer, so why should an engineer try to be an Accountant. My Tax software costs $2500 a year, not $50 at Costco.

LOL, I agree.
If everyone of us who are professionals in a field had everyone come to us.
Just think, we wouldn't have to listen to all advice here from non-pros.
No legal tips, no tax advice and best of all for me is all the wrong and uneducated IT advice.
Life would be grand, wouldn't it?

If you're certain of the proper treatment, have you tried going to Forms View instead of input and simply edit there in both forms?

Not sure if that will pass the check before filing, but perhaps so. Or you can print and file paper even with "errors" still open.

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Originally posted by Rey HRH:

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Originally posted by MMSIG229:
Why anyone attempts to do their own tax prep is beyond me. We file jointly and it costs about $155.00. I'd bet my pension that she finds me far more in deductions than I pay her.

I'll bet you that. How long have you been using her. And how much has your life changed over the years that are tax-related? It's a good bet that if you're paying only $155 that your tax situation isn't too complicated and that it hasn't changed over the years.

That means you're paying her $155 for the deductions she already found for you the first time. She's not getting you any new deductions each year.

On the other hand, Turbo Tax costs about $50 to $75. So you're only paying $75 to $100 more for the convenience. That isn't too bad of a price either.

I've been going to the same place for about 10 years. You are correct regarding just plugging in new numbers each year. Last year was very complicated though. I retired from my full time job last april, and have since been working two part time jobs. My health care deductions were very complicated because I had two different employers at times, and also had to buy private insurance for six months. For an extra $75.00 I'll gladly pay her to do it. Rightly or wrongly it does give me peace of mind!!!

HuskySig

My email is in my profile. If you still need help, send me an email with your phone number and we'll pick a time to chat in the evening. I'll need to be at my home computer.

In the interim, print out your return and circle everywhere the amount is showing up.

There is a view forms options that we can use to get this fixed. Probably take 10 minutes.

Oh... this is not an open invitation to all for help with TurboTax. I'm a CPA and slammed this time of year. I use TurboTax for my personal returns. (We can't use the more powerful systems at the office for personal return - it's some sort of licensing conflict.)

ALSO, THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF TURBOTAX. I HAVE A LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT PRODUCT.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
If you're certain of the proper treatment, have you tried going to Forms View instead of input and simply edit there in both forms?

To other TurboTax users-

The forms option is only available in the downloaded version(s). Some things work fine using direct entry (via the forms method) and other things are almost impossible to get right unless you use the interview method.

My plan is to have the OP find where the numbers are showing up on forms and we maybe able to delete that form or remove the entry. It is not necessarily as easy as it sounds but with luck, it will work.

I've been a loyal CPA guy for 30+ years - that being said, last year seeded some doubts as the CPA firm just farms it out to a lower rate employee and he wasn't all that good.

So I tried Turbo Tax this year and got an answer (wasn't really pleased), so I'll try the CPA once more and compare the results and decide.

To HuskySig, Glad you figured it out. This is the first time in ages I've waited this long to file. Hope all is well.

Glad my neighbor is a CPA & someone I trust, I've always used TurboTax, but with my wife's business, didn't want to deal with it this year, knew we'd have a big tax bill & am letting a professional go through it.

I used to use TurboTax but a couple of years ago I switched to taxact.com. I really like it and it's very affordable.

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Originally posted by SR:
HuskySig

My email is in my profile. If you still need help, send me an email with your phone number and we'll pick a time to chat in the evening. I'll need to be at my home computer.

SR, I greatly appreciate your offer to help, but I've gotten my issue resolved. I pulled out the 1040 forms I filed for 2014 and 2015. Using them as guides, I was able to work my way through Turbo Tax to get the royalty numbers situated into the correct locations. Thanks again for a supremely generous offer at your most busy time of the year!

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Originally posted by HuskySig:

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Originally posted by SR:
HuskySig

My email is in my profile. If you still need help, send me an email with your phone number and we'll pick a time to chat in the evening. I'll need to be at my home computer.

SR, I greatly appreciate your offer to help, but I've gotten my issue resolved. I pulled out the 1040 forms I filed for 2014 and 2015. Using them as guides, I was able to work my way through Turbo Tax to get the royalty numbers situated into the correct locations. Thanks again for a supremely generous offer at your most busy time of the year!

Does TurboTax have an easy feedback process that you can use to let them know they have a problem?

OP - sounds like you did the TT walk-through and put the royalty in the incorrect section, which you've now figured out. Those are guides but you still have to know if the income applies or not. I've been preparing my own taxes for most of the last 30 years. I've used TT or manually filled out the forms as needed. I've also hired a CPA. The IRS pubs are a good resource to resolve questions that TT doesn't make clear.

As for the CPA finding things TT can't...that's up for debate. I've worked through old returns my CPA did and there's nothing I couldn't have claimed myself. In fact, I'd go on to say that if your fees for CPA/taxes are so low you cannot claim them on your taxes, you're likely not gaining much benefit. I say this because the vast majority of us should be able to accurately file our taxes given patience and a bit of effort...even without a program like TT.

Anyhow, hope you get things straightened out.

I used it for the first time this year. Since I had a pretty simple form, 1040A I always did it by hand. It took a lot longer with TT and e-filing took forever just to fill out all the info. I don't know if I'll subject myself to that again next year. It was a PITA!

I used TurboTax for the last several years and was happy enough. Then this year after I started filing they decided to raise the price if you didn't file by a certain date. So I said fuck them and went to Taxact and got the same service for quite a bit less.

Raise your price and offer no more service? Good business model, stupid.

I had used Turbotax for ever.....until they pulled that crap about removing Sched C from the deluxe package 3 or 4 years ago. I switched to H&R Block and have never looked back.

Thankfully Intuit sold Quicken. I hope the new company can make this once great product great again.

It is littered with problems presently.

Mike