Qualified Disaster Distribution - Form 8915-F & 1099-R

[Michael]

I am trying to enter a 2024 qualified disaster distribution shown on form 1099-R to be included on form 8915-F. There is a section on the 1099-R worksheet that is called the Qualified Disaster Distribution Smart Worksheet that I have tried to use, with no luck. There is a box to check if this was a 2023 or 2024 disaster distribution. Checking the 2024 box gives an error message saying "2024 Disaster Distribution Checkbox - You are unable to file at this time for 2024 Qualified Disaster Distributions. This may be to the taxpayer's benefit." I find the last sentence of that error message to be incredibly insulting, and the rest of it is of no use. From what I can tell, checking the 2024 box should populate a form 8915-F that doesn't exist yet. Each year (2021-2023) ProSeries has introduced a new form 8915-F for that tax year. 8915F1, 8915F2, and 8915F3 respectively. There is not one for 2024. Spending hours on the phone with tech support has provided an assortment of incorrect information, such as that no distributions after 2021 can be claimed, or that I need to wait until the 2025 tax year to claim the 2024 distribution on a tax return. I was told that this can't be corrected. I was told the only updates being rolled out now are to make tax forms eligible to be e-filed. Those are just a few of my favorites. Obviously none of this is true, but I feel bad for anyone that might not know better and blindly followed any of the advice I have been given. The end result is that nobody could tell me if there is even a plan to issue an update or 8915F4. What a complete waste of time. At this point I have no idea as to whether I should wait for ProSeries to roll out a form 8915F4 for 2024 (that may never come) or if I need to override everything on one of the 8915F's that are available. 

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I havent had any of these since Covid, and those were all done in 2023.     

There is no 4th year, so you wouldn't find a 8915F-4.  If it was a 2024 disaster youd fill out the 8915F-1 wouldnt you, since that's the first year?

[Michael]

You might think so, but no. After looking through them I realized that the F1 populates the field "Calendar year in which the qualified disaster(s) began" as 2021, F2 as 2022, and F3 as 2023. It makes no sense as to why they would create a new 8915F every year, the 8915F smart worksheet asks for the date of the disaster so why not use this for the "Calendar year in which the qualified disaster(s) began" field? Weird programming choice. 

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Its weird because there are other years boxes on that form, why its such a hassle each year... it just doesnt make sense! The 8915F forms show ready and final but the instructions do say that most of the info will flow to it from the 1099R worksheet.

I wonder if its because the 1099R worksheet is all screwy, that they messed up the disaster distribution section futzing around with the RMD part of it.

[Michael]

They could have avoided this by programing it differently rather than introducing a new 8915F every year. And no it has nothing to do with the new and improved 1099R RMD for tax year 2024, it was an issue prior to that incredibly helpful change.