What is state distribution and why it is blank on my form?

[patelgaurav03]

i received 1099-R form for my pension there is no state tax with held but there is federal tax withheld but on box 14 which is state distribution has nothing on it.  can someone to me what is state distribution and why it is blank on my form?

[sourceress]

In this case, "State Distribution" refers to the amount of the distribution being reported on the form that was reported to your state, and for which state taxes were deducted.  If state taxes were deducted, those would also be reported.  In some cases, this is left blank because the state you are in does not require that information to be reported or does not tax it.  In other cases, it may be because the issuing authority (whoever sent you the 1099-R) did not know which state it should be attributed to, so they left it blank.  Either way, if you enter the data that you have on the form, Turbo Tax will figure out what should be done with it, and whether or not your state actually needs to know about it.

[godwinteed]

Thank you!

[AC191]

My state tax filing is being held up by Turbo-tax who is asking me to check my FORM 1099-R because State tax was withheld but no state distribution amount was entered by the issuer of the 1099-R.  Message from Turbo tax states:  Check this Enty:  Form 1099-R:  Box 12a For electronic Filing, New York State withholdings cannot be greater than or equal to gross distribution or state distribution.  There is NO box 12a on the 1099-R but Box 14 labelled state tax withheld, which TT has highlighted, is greater than empty Box 15 titled State distribution.  Additionally, the amount highlighted in Box 14 IS less than box 1 Gross distribution.  Should I zero out the amount that TT is questioning in a box the software created under the above message labelled 12a (which currently shows the amount in 1099-R's box 14?) or should I just click through and ignore the TT message?

[SamS1]

You need to enter the box 1 amount in box 16 for State Distribution.  This will tell Turbo Tax the amount of the gross NY distribution and clear the error.  

The pandemic has affected your taxes in many ways. Including reporting in TurboTax the amount of stimulus money you received. Click Here for more information on how the Pandemic affected your 2020  taxes.

[jdlloyd1]

My tax state is Virginia.  TT flagged an error for my CSA1099R, Statement of Annuity Paid because I have not entered a "state distribution" from box 16,  My CSA 1099R has no item 16 (or item 14 or 15 for that matter). I did have state withholding and entered that as indicated.  I placed the box 1 gross distribution dollar amount in the box 16 requested by TT.  It seemed to clear the error and had no effect on my taxes to be paid.  Was I correct to do this?

[MarilynG1]

@jdlloyd1 Yes, if you had State Tax Withheld on your CSA-1099R, you would need a State Distribution amount.  You correctly added the Box 1 Distribution amount.  

However, State Tax Withheld should be in Box 14 and you mention that your Box 14 is blank? 

Click this link for more info on How to Enter CSA-1099-R. 

[martin80]

What is the state distribution and why is it blank on my 1099r form (box 16). I'm in NY.

[ToddL99]

The "state distribution" is the amount of the 1099-R distribution that is reported to a state (or states) as income; that state could be the one you live in or it could be the state where you worked and "earned" the distribution (e.g. pension).. 

Depending on the type of distribution and your state of residence, a state distribution may or may not be taxable income to the state where it is reported. For example, if the payer reported all of the distribution to the state where you "earned" the distribution but you now reside in another state, then it is only taxable to the state where you live (if it has an income tax) - it is not taxable to the state where you "earned" the distribution.

If Boxes 14, 15 and 16 of your 1099-R are blank, then the payer did not report any part of the distribution to any state as income.

[whiskeysie]

I have the same exact issue. Thank you so much for typing it all out for us. I did contact TT phone support but they said it was an issue with me and not their software. They told me to uninstall TT and redo all my taxes. 

[whiskeysie]

Thank you SamS1. Your advice worked. That's a relief. Hopefully I will not have to contact you from State Prison. HA.

[Cynthiad66]

@whiskeysie You have made my day!!!  A little humor goes a long way.

[debm1955]

Turbo tax has neglected to do this 2 years in a row. I have had state income tax deducted from my IRA and the form leaves box 14 blank. Obviously there was a distribution but the box is left blank and turbo tax will not submit my taxes. They took my money and then they say fix this. They said everything looks good, let's go ahead and file. After my credit card was charged it's a no go. I was told by telephone that they are aware of the glitch and it would be fixed but they have my money and my taxes are not filed.

[connieandjim]

I have a similar issue.  Our State e-filing is being held up because on the Form 1099-R we received for the cash surrender value of my husband's life insurance policy, Box 14 (State tax withheld) has the dollar value that they withheld of $1,543.40.  Box 16 (State distribution) has $0.00 in it.  TurboTax is saying Box 14a (which I take to mean 14) cannot be greater than or equal to the amount in the State distribution.  That would be impossible since Box 16 is $0, any amount would be greater.  The only way I can rectify it is if I delete the amount in Box 14 but then it changes our refund amount.  In New York State, the state is not including any of this money we received from this cash surrender as taxable income.  So how do I get around this?  Should the amount in Box 1 (Gross distribution) be what is entered in Box 16 (State distribution)?  We don't want to lose getting that withheld money back if it shouldn't have been withheld.

[AnnetteB6]

Yes.  If your Form 1099-R does not have an amount in box 16 for a state distribution, but there is an amount in box 14 for state tax withheld, then the review message thinks there should be something in box 16.

Entering the box 1 amount into box 16 should clear the review message without changing your tax return.

@connieandjim