Government obligation from (ETF) BIL dividend doesn't lower MA state tax

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
May 15, 2025
1 reply
0 views

i bought ETF BIL in year 2024,

it pays dividend from short-term us treasury bond.

in theory these dividend are ~98% government obligation, should be exempted from MA taxes.

1. in TurboTax home&business 2024,
PERSONAL -> Personal Income -> Interest and Dividends -> Dividends on 1099-DIV -> Update

2. in the 1099-DIV page
Dividends and gains -> Box 1a -> $11548.18

3. Click "Continue"

check "A portion of these dividends is U.S. Government interest"

4. Click "Continue"

"U.S.Government interest", type in $5000 for testing

5. Click "Continue", "Confirm" ...

Surprisingly, i do not see my MA Tax Due goes down, still $2000 due.

In step 2, if i type in $1 just as a test, i can see more Federal Refund which make sense. But the MA Tax Due doesn't change, still $2000 due.

$11548 is a big amount, with 5% MA tax, shouldn't i see the MA tax due change ?

So my question is, if the dividend from BIL is MA tax exempted as it claimed, am i doing something wrong in my steps ?

TurboTax Home & Biz Windows

ningjiAuthor

SteamTrain

Employee

@ningji

OK...It may be operating properly, depending on when the software actually applies your changes to the MA state forms.

For instance...the software may have applied both the box 1a (11.5k) and US Govt obligations ($5k) only after you worked all the way out of the 1099-DIV form.

Things to try:

1) Change the US Govt obligations amount in those final follow-up steps to $0, and continue out of the form entirely and see if MA $$ owed jumps up.

then

2) edit the 1099-DIV again and change it back to $5,000. Work you way out....then go to the MA forms interview section and start thru it. But, once in it, switch to Forms Mode, open MA's Schedule B in the MA section, and see if the 5k is included in line 6a of that form (you might have other US Obligations included there so the total may be larger....could also check that line 6a value both with and without that $5k entered as US Govt Obligations on that 1099-DIV.

____________________

Still not registering right?

Delete that 1099-DIV entirely....the whole form, not just the values. Then re-enter it manually. Do Not import the form from the provider...just type it all in manually and see what happens.

___________________

____________________

____________*Answers are correct to the best of my knowledge when posted, but should not be considered to be legal or official tax advice.*