Amending my 2020 Tax Return, but TurboTax is Giving a Federal Refund Before I Amend Anything

[JoefromBK]

New to the forum, and desperate for help. My 2020 Federal and NYS Returns were accepted. Now I just received a new K-1 (Form 1065) which add $823 of income. So when I open my TurboTax (Home & Business) file and select "Amend", it starts out with approx a $536 refund, before I change a thing.

I continued with the amending anyway, but even at the final stage, when I preview my 1040X, I'm getting a refund. The 1040X Form seems to show a reduction in my Adjusted Gross Income.

Does anyone know what is going on?

[JoefromBK]

Correction - I'm going line-by-line on the pdf of the return, and it seems like the "Total Tax" went down and "Total Payments/Credits" went up, thereby giving me a refund without even changing a thing. I'm baffled and a bit concerned. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Irene2805]

Without seeing the return and K-1 it's hard to speak to the calculations.

If you or your spouse had any unemployment income, that would not be taxable now.  Perhaps there was a penalty on a retirement distribution that no longer applies.  There may be other things that would affect your return because of the American Rescue Plan (ARP).  Please see this TurboTax article for guidance:  How will the third stimulus impact me?

For further guidance please see these TurboTax Help articles:  

• How do I amend my 2020 return?
• Stimulus payment resources for your 2020 taxes

[fanfare]

Always start with a hard copy of your original return before you try to amend. That's the only way to know whether Form 1040X is filled out correctly.

[JoefromBK]

Thanks so much for replying! Neither my spouse nor I had any unemployment income, nor any penalties for retirement distribution.

I took the K-1 out of the equation just to see what's going on. I simply opened up my original 2020 TurboTax file, selected "Amend", and without making any changes at all I looked at a printout of the amended return. It shows an incorrect (i.e. higher) dollar amount in Taxes Paid that I actually paid. And it therefore wants to reward me with a refund that was NOT in my original return. I must be doing something wrong but I can't see what that might be. I don't know where TT is getting the amount in Taxes Paid, but it's not the same number as in my original return.

Many thanks to all for your help. If I figure it out I'll send a post just to enlighten others who might experience this.

[Nauta7877]

Hi wondering if you found a solution or cause? I’m having the same issue except TT says I should be refunded $14k once I hit the amend tax function…and before I input or change anything else. Wonder if this is a bug or defect?