TurboTax Asking for Previous Year Tax Liability from Form 2210 That I Don't Have - So Confused!
I'm trying to file my 2025 taxes using TurboTax and running into a weird issue. I owe some taxes from last year, so I figured my tax liability isn't zero. But now TurboTax is asking me questions about Form 2210 from the previous year that I can't find anywhere in my paperwork. When I look at my old 1040, I can see I owed money (there's an amount listed), but line 20 which apparently is supposed to show the tax liability is completely blank. I've searched through all my tax documents from last year and don't have a Form 2210 at all. I'm pretty sure I still have tax liability though since I owed money. I'm totally stuck on what to enter here. Should I just put zero since the line is blank? Or should I use the amount I owed from somewhere else on the 1040? TurboTax won't let me proceed without answering this, and I really don't want to mess up my filing this year because of something from last year's taxes. Any advice would be super appreciated!
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Brandon Parker
This is a common confusion point with TurboTax. The tax liability they're asking for isn't the amount you still owe from last year - it's your total tax liability from last year's return (basically the total amount of tax you were responsible for before any payments or withholdings were applied). Look at your previous year's Form 1040, line 24. That's your total tax, which is what TurboTax is asking for when it mentions "tax liability" for Form 2210 purposes. Don't leave it blank or put zero if you had income and paid taxes last year. The Form 2210 is used to calculate underpayment penalties, and TurboTax needs your previous year's tax amount to determine if you qualify for any safe harbor provisions. If you can't find your previous return, you can request a tax transcript from the IRS website that will show this information.
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Adriana Cohn
•Thanks for explaining! I'm looking at my old 1040 now and line 24 does have a number. But I'm confused why TurboTax specifically asks about Form 2210 when I never filed that form last year? Does that matter? And if I owed money last year but didn't pay it all yet, should I still just use line 24 or do I need to add the unpaid amount somehow?
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Brandon Parker
•The reason TurboTax is asking about Form 2210 is because it's determining whether you need to file that form this year. Form 2210 is used to calculate any underpayment penalty if you didn't pay enough tax throughout the year, either through withholding or estimated payments. TurboTax needs your previous year's tax liability (from line 24) to check if you qualify for a safe harbor provision that might protect you from penalties. You should just use the amount from line 24 regardless of whether you've paid off all your tax debt from last year or not. The amount you still owe is a separate issue from your total tax liability, which is what they're asking for here.
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Jace Caspullo
I went through this exact same headache last month when filing. After hours of frustration, I found that using taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) solved this problem completely. I uploaded my previous year's tax documents, and it identified exactly which number to use for the tax liability question in TurboTax. It explained that TurboTax is looking for your total tax from the previous year (like Line 24 on Form 1040), not just what you might still owe. The system analyzed my documents and pointed out exactly where to find this figure, which saved me tons of confusion trying to figure out what TurboTax was actually asking for.
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Melody Miles
•How does the service work exactly? Do you have to upload all your tax documents? I'm always nervous about sharing my financial info with new websites.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
•Does it actually explain the tax rules or just tell you which numbers to use? I'm dealing with a similar issue but also want to understand why I'm being asked for Form 2210 info when I've never filed that form before.
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Jace Caspullo
•The service works by analyzing your tax documents to pull out the important figures and explain what they mean. You upload the relevant documents (in my case just my previous 1040), and it identifies the key information. They use security similar to what banks use, so I felt comfortable with it. It does both - gives you the specific numbers you need AND explains the tax rules behind them. In my case, it explained that Form 2210 is for calculating underpayment penalties, and TurboTax needs your previous year's total tax (regardless of whether you filed 2210 before) to determine if you qualify for any safe harbor provisions that might prevent penalties.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after posting my question here and it was super helpful! I uploaded my previous 1040 and it immediately showed me that line 24 was what TurboTax was asking for. The explanation made perfect sense - TurboTax needs to know my previous year's tax liability to calculate whether I need to pay any underpayment penalties this year. Even though I never filed Form 2210 last year, the number is still relevant for this year's calculations. I was able to continue with my filing and TurboTax finally moved past that screen. Definitely recommend if you're stuck on similar tax questions!
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Eva St. Cyr
If you're still struggling with this and need clarification directly from the IRS (their website can be super confusing on this stuff), I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually talk to an IRS agent about this exact issue. They got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. The IRS agent confirmed that for Form 2210 purposes, they need your total tax from the previous year (line 24 on 1040), not what you still owe. They explained the whole underpayment calculation to me in detail. You can see how the service works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you when an agent is available.
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Kristian Bishop
•Seriously? They can get you through to an actual human at the IRS? I've called like 8 times and always get the "we're experiencing high call volume" message and it hangs up on me.
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Kaitlyn Otto
•Sounds too good to be true. I've literally never been able to get through to the IRS. How much does it cost? Is it some kind of scam where they pretend to be the IRS or something?
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Eva St. Cyr
•Yes, they actually do get you through to a real IRS agent! The service holds your place in line and calls you when an agent picks up. It's completely legitimate - you're talking to actual IRS employees, not third-party representatives. It's not a scam at all - they don't pretend to be the IRS or ask for your personal information. They just use technology to navigate the phone system and wait on hold for you. When they get through, they connect the call to your phone. I was skeptical too until I tried it and ended up talking to a very helpful IRS representative who answered all my questions about the tax liability issue.
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Kaitlyn Otto
I have to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I was desperate to resolve my tax issue before the filing deadline. Within 25 minutes, I was talking to an actual IRS agent who walked me through exactly what to do with the Form 2210 question in TurboTax. They confirmed I needed to use line 24 from my previous 1040 as my tax liability, even though I never completed a 2210 form last year. The agent also explained why TurboTax was asking - it's checking if I qualify for a "safe harbor" provision that might protect me from underpayment penalties based on my previous year's tax amount. Completely solved my issue and I was able to finish filing!
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Axel Far
Another option if you can't find your old tax return: You can go to the IRS website and request a tax transcript online. It's free and you'll get it pretty quickly. The transcript will show your total tax (line 24) from last year that TurboTax is asking for. I had to do this last year when I couldn't find my paper copy. The whole process took like 15 minutes to set up and I got access to my transcript immediately. Just google "IRS get transcript online" and it should be the first result.
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Jasmine Hernandez
•Does the IRS transcript show all the lines from Form 1040? I lost all my tax docs in a move and need more than just the total tax amount.
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Axel Far
•The IRS transcript doesn't show every single line item like an exact copy of your 1040 would, but it does show all the major items including your total tax, adjusted gross income, taxable income, and any payments or credits. For most situations, it has all the information you'd need for completing this year's taxes. If you absolutely need a complete copy of your return with all schedules and worksheets, you'd need to request a full tax return copy instead of a transcript, but that takes longer and has a fee. For the Form 2210 question specifically, the transcript will definitely have the information you need.
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Luis Johnson
Wait I'm still confused... if the tax liability is on line 24 of Form 1040, why is TurboTax asking about it in relation to Form 2210? I've been filing taxes for years and never had to deal with Form 2210 before.
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Ellie Kim
•Form 2210 is used to calculate any underpayment penalty if you didn't pay enough tax throughout the year. TurboTax is checking if you need to file this form by comparing your previous year's tax liability (line 24 on last year's 1040) with your current payments/withholding. There's a "safe harbor" rule that says if you paid at least 100% of your previous year's tax (or 110% for higher incomes), you generally won't face underpayment penalties even if you end up owing this year. TurboTax needs that previous year number to check if you're protected by this safe harbor.
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Andre Dubois
I had this exact same issue last year! The confusion comes from TurboTax's wording - when they ask about "previous year tax liability from Form 2210," they're not saying you actually filed Form 2210 last year. They're asking for your previous year's total tax amount (from line 24 of your 1040) because they need it to determine if you should file Form 2210 THIS year. Form 2210 is only required if you have an underpayment penalty, but TurboTax uses your previous year's tax liability to check if you qualify for safe harbor protection (which could save you from penalties even if you underpaid). So even though you never filed a 2210 before, that number from line 24 is still relevant for this year's calculations. Don't put zero if line 24 has a number on it - use that amount regardless of whether you still owe money from last year or not. The outstanding balance you owe is completely separate from your total tax liability.
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Jamal Anderson
•This is exactly the clarification I needed! I was so confused by TurboTax's wording - it really does sound like they're asking for a form that I should have filed previously. Your explanation makes perfect sense that they need last year's total tax to calculate whether I need Form 2210 THIS year, not that I filed it before. I found line 24 on my old 1040 and it has a number there, so I'll use that instead of leaving it blank. Thank you for breaking down the safe harbor concept too - I had no idea that paying enough based on last year's taxes could protect me from penalties!
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Malik Thomas
I just went through this exact same situation a few weeks ago and was pulling my hair out! The key thing that finally clicked for me is that TurboTax's question is really poorly worded. When they ask for "previous year tax liability from Form 2210," they're NOT asking for a Form 2210 that you filed last year (most people never file this form). What they actually need is your total tax from last year's Form 1040, line 24. This number helps TurboTax determine if you need to file Form 2210 THIS year for underpayment penalties, and whether you qualify for safe harbor protection. I was making the same mistake of looking for a Form 2210 I never filed instead of just using the tax liability amount from my regular 1040. Once I entered the line 24 amount, everything worked perfectly and TurboTax moved on to the next section. Don't overthink it - just use that number from line 24, even if it seems too simple!
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