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Level 1
June 4, 2019
Question

Tax topic 151 what does this mean? When will iIget my money? How much? Does it affect eic ?

  • June 4, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 1 view
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2 replies

Level 7
June 4, 2019
Tax Topic 151 means your return is under review.  This can be done for various credit claims such as Earned Income Credit or any of the education tax breaks (this is not all inclusive).  Your best bet it to wait until the IRS contacts you via letter which can take up to or more than 4 weeks for you to receive it.

They may simply need more information and nothing will be affected.  In addition, they could potentially make changes which you can accept or contest the changes per the IRS letter.  You may want to use our Audit Support Center to assist you in drafting a response to the letter if you received a notice that requires a response.

If you purchased Audit Defense, you should contact them first - if you don't contact them at the first notice, then they may not be able to assist you with the most beneficial outcome.

Please refer to the link below for our Audit Support Center.  This is free even if you did not purchase Audit Defense.  In addition to using our self-help tools, you can call and talk to a tax expert to assist you in more detail on how to respond.  However, TurboTax experts and employees cannot represent you in front of the IRS.  This is a do-it-yourself method with guidance from an expert.

https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/irs-notice/audit-support/

If you purchased Audit Defense (or MAX Benefits this year if using TurboTax Online), please go to the link below for the third-party that handles these cases.  You can contact them informing them that you received a notice and receive assistance from someone who has experience with IRS notices.

http://www.taxaudit.com/turbo-tax-audit-defense


Level 2
June 4, 2019
I spoke to a tax lawyer, whom informed me that tax topic 151 means that they are either doing as you stated above or you owe a previous tax bill. He also told me that sometimes it can take a couple months to six months or more to receive your refund, part of your refund, or no refund at all.
Level 15
March 30, 2020

@RDeL

Topic No. 151, Your Appeal Rights, is provided to taxpayers when there is a tax dispute.  Generally, you’d need to provide the IRS with what they want relevant to a specific issue – a dispute over the Earned Income Credit, could call for providing children’s school records, birth certificates, proof of residence, etc.  It depends on the issue.

A separate document explaining your appeal rights is typically sent when the IRS is conducting an audit, which would also inform the taxpayer of the reason for the audit.

The IRS also appears to be providing this topic when there is an offset to a federal refund.  Please see Topic Number 203 - Reduced Refund for more information.