Skip to main content
April 3, 2022
Solved

Form 1116 needs an explanation

  • April 3, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

In TurboTax Desktop, I have a message saying "Check this Entry": "Form 1116 (COPY 1)-- Explanation Stm: Detailed Explanation must be completed. Enter your explanation here to complete the required statement. It must show the other deduction items for line 3B column a."  If I go to the form, line 3b says "other deductions (attach statement)" and a value of $14000.  On the 1116 worksheet, this is listed as "remaining dedns from gross income".  I haven't the foggiest idea where TurboTax got this number, so how am I supposed to explain it?

Best answer by jwwalker-sd

I went through my deductions and found one that exactly matched the amount, traditional IRA contributions, so I guess that's the explanation.  Why TurboTax couldn't have figured that out, I don't know.

1 reply

jwwalker-sdAuthorAnswer
April 3, 2022

I went through my deductions and found one that exactly matched the amount, traditional IRA contributions, so I guess that's the explanation.  Why TurboTax couldn't have figured that out, I don't know.

April 15, 2024

In my case the amount listed next to "Remaining dedns from gross income" was equal to the amount I put into my HSA (Health Savings Account). Agreed why doesn't TurboTax know that? And why is that on the Foreign Tax Credit Computation Worksheet? What does that have to do with foreign taxes? Is this a bug?

baldietax
April 15, 2024

Hate doing 1116 it always needs a bunch of adjustments and clicking around in forms to make it work.  I had the same issue and had to write in about HSA contribution and a CD early withdrawal penalty.  This is one of those things where TT just gives up what to write probably because of all the different things that it could be, and asks the user to summarize it.  The need for the deduction, I think, is Form 1116 does some sort of deduction calculation based on ratio of foreign source income over all income to determine how much of the tax you can claim back from a given country.  A lot of gymnastics which just seem overly complicated.  I have foreign tax deduction from prior years trapped as a carryover and can never figure out what will release it.