Need help finding my State Identification Number for house sale tax in TurboTax??

This can definitely be confusing! A State Identification Number in this context usually refers to the number assigned to you or the transaction by the state tax authority when they withheld taxes from your home sale. Check your closing documents, specifically the settlement statement (often called the HUD-1 or Closing Disclosure). There should be a line item showing the state tax withholding with an associated reference number. This number is typically what you need to enter. If you can't find it there, look for any tax withholding certificates or forms provided at closing. Some states issue specific forms (like Form 593 in California) that contain this identification number.

I had this exact same problem last year when I sold my rental property! I spent days looking through papers until I finally tried taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and got it sorted in minutes. You just upload your closing documents and it identifies all the important tax info including that state ID number. It saved me so much time and frustration after I was about ready to give up on finding it. Their system is pretty smart - it recognized the state withholding certificate in my stack of closing papers that I had completely overlooked, and pointed out exactly where to find the number TurboTax was asking for.

Just wanted to update everyone - I finally tried taxr.ai after struggling with this for days. It found my state identification number in literally 5 minutes! It was buried in a state withholding form that got mixed in with all my other closing paperwork. Saved me from having to call the state tax office and probably wait on hold for hours. The site actually pointed out a couple other deductions I would have missed too. Pretty impressed with how simple it made everything when I was really starting to stress about meeting the filing deadline.

If you're still struggling to find your state ID number, another option is to call your state tax agency directly. I had to do this last year, but calling the state tax department is a nightmare - was on hold for over 2 hours before getting disconnected! I eventually used https://claimyr.com (check out how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and they had the tax department call ME instead of waiting on hold. Within an hour I had an agent on the phone who explained exactly what number I needed to use and where to find it. Completely worth it after wasting an entire afternoon trying to get through on my own.

I'm actually embarrassed to admit this, but I tried Claimyr today after posting that skeptical comment. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back in 35 minutes with the state tax department on the line. The agent confirmed that in my state, the ID number I needed was actually printed right on the withholding certificate (Form WH-1) that came with my closing papers. Can't believe I wasted a week stressing about this when I could have just had them call me. Taxes filed and done now! Sometimes being proven wrong is a good thing.

This might sound obvious, but have you tried calling your real estate agent or title company? When I sold my house last year, they were the ones who handled all the withholding. My agent had all the documentation with the state ID number and emailed it to me in like 10 minutes when I asked. Might be worth a try before going through more complicated options!

Just be careful that you enter the state ID number in the correct format in TurboTax. Mine had dashes that needed to be included exactly as shown on the document. When I first entered it without the dashes, TurboTax gave me an error. Also make sure you're not confusing it with the transaction ID number, which is different.