Solved

"Early Distribution" Error on 529 withdrawal?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 9, 2021
1 reply
0 views

I'm filing my California taxes and I came to this page, "Additional Tax on Education or Able Distributions".

With the following detail, "Your distribution of $*** is subject to the additional tax on these distributions. You owe additional tax of $*** on this early distribution."

However, the distribution is not "early"...it was a fully eligible withdrawal for higher education expenses.

I've searched through the discussions are quite a few similar posts noting k-12 expenses and some CA/Fed tax law inconsistencies but nothing matching up to my situation.

I can switch to the form and just enter in the amount that is not subject to additional tax but thought I should post here to see if anyone has any input.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

Best answer by DawnC

Have you entered the higher education expenses yet? It will show as an early withdrawal until you enter the qualifying expenses. If the distribution doesn’t exceed the amount of the student's qualifying expenses, then you don't have to report any of the distribution as income on your tax return. If the distribution exceeds these expenses, then you must report the earnings on the excess as "other income" on your tax return. When you pay a student’s school expenses with these funds, you cannot claim a tuition deduction or either of the educational tax credits for the same expense.

For most qualified education program beneficiaries, the amounts reported on the 1099-Q aren’t reported on a tax return. However, if annual distributions exceed your adjusted qualified education expenses, you may need to report some of the earnings reported in box 2 as income on your tax return and pay an additional 10 percent tax on it as well. Your adjusted expenses are equal to the total of your qualified education expenses minus other tax-free assistance you receive, such as scholarships and Pell grants. For example, suppose your qualified education expenses are $10,000, you receive a $2,000 Pell grant, and boxes 1 and 2 of your 1099-Q report a gross distribution of $8,000 and earnings of $1,000. Your adjusted expenses are $8,000—which means you don’t have to report any education program distributions on your tax return.

Related Information:

KrisD15

California views distributions to pay K-12 expenses as Non-Qualifying.

Source

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"

J

johnwcAuthor

Yes, K-12 is non-qualifying...understood. However, my distribution was a fully qualified higher education expense. I'm not sure if this is a Turbo Tax error that I should work around or if I'm missing something.

Thanks!

DawnCAnswer

Employee

Have you entered the higher education expenses yet? It will show as an early withdrawal until you enter the qualifying expenses. If the distribution doesn’t exceed the amount of the student's qualifying expenses, then you don't have to report any of the distribution as income on your tax return. If the distribution exceeds these expenses, then you must report the earnings on the excess as "other income" on your tax return. When you pay a student’s school expenses with these funds, you cannot claim a tuition deduction or either of the educational tax credits for the same expense.

For most qualified education program beneficiaries, the amounts reported on the 1099-Q aren’t reported on a tax return. However, if annual distributions exceed your adjusted qualified education expenses, you may need to report some of the earnings reported in box 2 as income on your tax return and pay an additional 10 percent tax on it as well. Your adjusted expenses are equal to the total of your qualified education expenses minus other tax-free assistance you receive, such as scholarships and Pell grants. For example, suppose your qualified education expenses are $10,000, you receive a $2,000 Pell grant, and boxes 1 and 2 of your 1099-Q report a gross distribution of $8,000 and earnings of $1,000. Your adjusted expenses are $8,000—which means you don’t have to report any education program distributions on your tax return.

Related Information:

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"