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Reporting alimony paid or received in Lacerte

by Intuit•2• Updated 1 year ago

Alimony paid and received statements have been added to Lacerte for tax year 2019 and later. These statements will generate when multiple dates are entered. In addition, new input codes have been introduced. This article will assist you with entering alimony received or paid in the Individual module of Lacerte.

Follow these steps to enter alimony received:

  1. Go to Screen 14.1, SS Benefits, Alimony Miscellaneous Inc.  
  2. Scroll down to the Alimony and Other Income section.
  3. Enter the following information in the Alimony received (Ctrl+E) field (taxpayer code 5, spouse code 55):
    • Alimony received
    • Date of agreement
      • The agreement date can't be after 12/31 of the prior tax year. For example, in 2020 the date can't be after 12/31/2019.

The Alimony received will print on Schedule 1, line 2a and the Date of agreement will print on Schedule 1, line 2b. When multiple dates are entered, the date for the highest alimony received will display on Schedule 1, line 2b, and the program will produce a statement that shows the dates of all other agreements aside from the one displayed on line 2b.

The following diagnostic will generate when a date has been entered with no corresponding amount:

Schedule 1: Each Alimony received entry must have a divorce or separation agreement date present. (ref. #53016)

To resolve this diagnostic, review entries for the Alimony received (Ctrl+E) field to make sure that each Alimony received entry corresponds with a Date of agreement.

Follow these steps to enter alimony paid:

  1. Go to Screen 24, Adjustments to Income.
  2. Scroll down to the Alimony Paid section.
  3. Enter the following information in the Alimony Paid (Ctrl+E) field (taxpayer code 18, spouse code 68):
    • Recipient's first name (taxpayer code 39.1, spouse code 89.1)
    • Recipient's last name (taxpayer code 40.1, spouse code 90.1)
    • Recipient's SSN (taxpayer code 41.1, spouse code 91.1)
    • Amount paid (taxpayer code 18.1, spouse code 68.1)
    • Date of agreement

When only one date is present, the Alimony paid, Recipient's SSN and Date of agreement will print on Schedule 1, lines 18a, b and c. When multiple dates are present, line 18a will display the total, all other fields will remain blank, and a statement will be produced providing these details.

The following diagnostic will generate when an amount has been entered with no corresponding date:

Schedule 1: Each Alimony paid entry must have a divorce or separation agreement date present for e-file purposes. (ref. #52989)

To resolve this diagnostic, review the entries for Alimony Paid (Ctrl+E) and make sure that each Amount paid corresponds with a Date of agreement.

Lacerte Tax 2021

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