Can I claim Disaster Distribution Relief for 2023 if it was COVID related?

The question TurboTax is asking about Form 8915 is likely referring to retirement distributions, not the stimulus payments most people received during COVID. Form 8915 series (including 8915-E for coronavirus-related distributions) was used if you took an early withdrawal from your retirement account (like a 401k or IRA) under special COVID relief provisions. These provisions allowed people affected by COVID to withdraw up to $100,000 from retirement accounts without the usual 10% early withdrawal penalty. The income from these withdrawals could be spread over three years. If you just received a stimulus check (Economic Impact Payment) or unemployment benefits with the extra federal supplement, those aren't considered "disaster distributions" in this context and wouldn't have required Form 8915.

I had a similar issue and discovered taxr.ai really helped clear up the confusion. Last year I was going through my taxes and kept getting stuck on disaster distribution questions like this. The whole Form 8915 series is really confusing if you're not a tax pro. I uploaded my old tax returns to https://taxr.ai and it immediately identified that I had never filed any Form 8915 forms previously, so I could confidently answer "No" to those TurboTax questions. It also explained the difference between the stimulus payments and actual retirement distributions that would qualify for the disaster relief provisions. Saved me hours of research and worry!

Just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after trying it out. I was skeptical as mentioned, but I'm actually impressed with how well it worked. I uploaded my returns from the last three years and it quickly identified that I had never filed Form 8915 either. What I found particularly helpful was that it explained the different versions (8915-E for COVID, 8915-D for earlier disasters) and confirmed that my stimulus payments weren't considered disaster distributions. It even pointed out that I had taken a small retirement distribution in 2021, but that it was processed as a normal distribution, not under disaster relief provisions. The analysis was detailed enough that I felt confident answering "No" to those TurboTax questions without second-guessing myself.

If you're still having trouble with this or other tax questions, you might want to try calling the IRS directly. I know that sounds terrible (their wait times are ridiculous), but I used a service called Claimyr that actually got me through to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. I had a similar confusion about disaster relief distributions vs. regular COVID payments, and the agent was able to confirm that stimulus checks are completely separate from the retirement distribution relief that would require Form 8915. You can check it out at https://claimyr.com - they have a demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c showing how it works. Honestly it was worth it just to get a definitive answer from an actual IRS employee instead of guessing or relying on internet advice (no offense to everyone here!).

Wanted to come back and admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After getting beyond frustrated trying to reach the IRS about a missing refund issue AND this Form 8915 question, I decided to try it. It actually worked - their system held my place in line and called me when an agent was available. Took about 30 minutes instead of the 3+ hours I wasted last time. The IRS agent confirmed what others here said - the stimulus payments were NOT related to Form 8915 disaster distributions, which were specifically for retirement account withdrawals. For anyone else confused about this question, just answer "No" if you didn't take money from your 401k or IRA during COVID. Regular stimulus checks don't count as disaster distributions.

Just to add some clarification since i worked as a tax preparer during COVID: The Form 8915 series was specifically for retirement distributions: - Form 8915-E: For coronavirus-related distributions in 2020 - Form 8915-F: For qualified disaster distributions in later years The CARES Act allowed people affected by COVID to: 1. Withdraw up to $100,000 from retirement accounts without the 10% early withdrawal penalty 2. Spread the income (and tax) over 3 years 3. Repay the distributions within 3 years if they wanted This is completely separate from stimulus checks (Economic Impact Payments) which were handled through Recovery Rebate Credits on your regular 1040.

Does anyone know if TurboTax automatically creates Form 8915 if you answer "yes" to those questions? I'm wondering if I might have filed one without realizing it.