Amended 2023 return reduces my refund but TurboTax says I owe money. I applied the refund to next year's taxes

[williams3796]

(Not real numbers.) I originally had a refund of $3000 that I opted to apply to 2024 taxes. After amending, my refund is $1000 (still overpaid for 2023). TurboTax says I owe $2000 for 2023.

When they receive my amended return, will the IRS change the refund applied to $1000? I'm not actually getting a refund - it's on paper - so I don't understand how I owe.

[JulieS]

No, the IRS won't adjust the amount you applied to 2024 based on your amended return. Because you applied your refund to 2024, the IRS looks at this the same as if you received the refund. 

The amended return shows that you owe because the original refund was applied to your 2024 estimated taxes.
 

You can either pay the $2,000, or call the IRS, explain the situation, and ask them to adjust the amount applied to 2024. Follow this link for contact information. 

 

[Mike9241]

have you received the refund? you should not file an amended return until the original return is fully processed and you get whatever refund the IRS calculates.   then you need to enter the actual refund you received in the amended return. The amended return you prepared assumes you got or will get the $3,000. If you get it you are now owed $0.  The amended return reduced the refund from $3,000 to $1,000 so now you have to repay the $2,000 excess you got. This is why you have to wait. If the IRS changes your refund, you will be filing an incorrect amended return.