What's the deal with the Federal carryover worksheet in TurboTax - do I need it for first-time filing?

Hey tax people! So I'm doing my own taxes for the very first time (adulting is hard lol) and I've been working through TurboTax step by step. I just got to this screen called "Federal carryover worksheet" and honestly I have no idea what I'm looking at. It's asking for all this information from previous tax returns but since this is literally my first time filing, I'm not sure if I should be entering anything here or if I can just skip it entirely? I've been trying to be super careful and not mess anything up, but this section is confusing me. Since I didn't file last year (I was a student and didn't make enough to need to file), would I just leave everything blank? Or am I missing something important that could impact my refund? Any help would be amazing since I'm determined to figure this out on my own without having to pay someone!

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19 comments

Miranda Singer

•8M

If this is your first time filing taxes, you can safely skip the Federal carryover worksheet in TurboTax. That section is specifically for people who have certain tax items from previous years that need to be applied to this year's return. Common carryover items include capital losses, charitable contribution deductions that exceeded limits in previous years, or unused credits that can be applied to future tax years. Since you've never filed before, you won't have any of these items to carry forward.

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Cass Green

•8M

It analyzes your specific tax situation based on the documents you upload, so it's way more helpful than generic advice. You can take pictures of your W-2s, 1099s, or whatever forms you have, and it tells you exactly what to do with that information in whichever tax software you're using. As for security, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. I was worried about that too initially, but they explain their security measures on their site. They're just analyzing the docs to give you personalized guidance, not filing for you or anything.

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Finley Garrett

•8M

Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was super helpful! I uploaded my W-2 and a couple 1099s, and it literally walked me through exactly what to skip and what to pay attention to in TurboTax. Saved me from second-guessing myself a million times as a first-time filer. For the carryover worksheet specifically, it confirmed I should leave it blank since I had no previous year carryovers. Definitely less stressful than my original plan of bothering my dad with a thousand questions lol

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Holly Lascelles

•8M

If you're still stuck on any tax questions or need help from the IRS directly, I'd recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was banging my head against the wall trying to get through to an actual human at the IRS about some carryover questions from previous years. Spent HOURS on hold before giving up. Then I found Claimyr and they got me a callback from the IRS in like 45 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. Totally changed my perspective on dealing with the IRS.

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Holly Lascelles

•8M

It basically navigates the IRS phone tree for you and secures your place in line, then calls you when an agent is about to be available. They've figured out the optimal calling patterns and times to minimize wait. It's not magic - they're just using technology to handle the most frustrating part of the process. No, it's not a scam. I was skeptical too, which is why I tried it myself. The IRS wait times are brutal because they're understaffed. Claimyr doesn't claim to have special access - they just handle the waiting game so you don't have to sit with your phone for hours.

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Madison Tipne

•8M

Ok I need to apologize publicly because I tried Claimyr after being a total jerk about it here (sorry about that). I had some complicated carryover questions from a business loss last year that TurboTax wasn't handling right. After wasting an entire afternoon trying to call the IRS myself, I gave Claimyr a shot as a last resort. Got a callback from an actual IRS agent in about an hour who sorted everything out. I'm still shocked it worked. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!

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Kyle Wallace

•8M

Just to add to what others have said - for the Federal carryover worksheet, think of it like this: it's for "leftovers" from previous tax years. Since you have no tax leftovers (because you haven't filed before), you have nothing to enter! Common examples of carryovers: - If you had investment losses over $3,000 last year - If you donated more than 60% of your income to charity - If you had certain business or rental losses - If you had certain credits you couldn't fully use

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Jacob Lee

•5M

Hey Aliyah! Welcome to the world of doing your own taxes - you're definitely not alone in feeling confused by all the different screens and options! Just to reinforce what others have said, the Federal carryover worksheet is 100% something you can skip as a first-time filer. It's basically TurboTax's way of asking "do you have any unfinished tax business from previous years?" Since you've never filed before, the answer is automatically no. One tip for navigating TurboTax as a first-timer: don't stress about every single screen or option they show you. The software is designed to cover every possible tax situation, so it'll present you with sections that might not apply to your simple W-2 situation. When in doubt, if you don't have the specific documents or situations they're asking about, you can usually skip those sections safely. You're doing great by being careful and asking questions! The fact that you're taking your time to understand each step will serve you well. Good luck with the rest of your return!

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