Does the recovery rebate program add money to my refund?

[jennifer-munsell]

I didn't receive the second stimulus payment, so I added the Recovery Rebate Credit, but it doesn't look like its actually giving me the stimulus amount along with my refund. Just absorbing it into standard deductions.

[ErnieS0 · Accepted solution]

Yes. If you did not receive the full stimulus payment, then the missing amounts will be added to your refund.

The Recovery Rebate Credit (stimulus) is a credit, not a deduction.

Check TurboTax to see whether you entered your stimulus correctly. The second amount should be $0 if you did not receive it.  In TurboTax Online, to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit please do the following:

1. Sign into your account and continue from where you left off
2. Click on Federal in the left-hand column, then on Federal Review on the top of the screen
3. On the next page titled Let's make sure you got the right stimulus amount, click on Continue
4. Follow the interview
5. TurboTax will determine whether you are entitled to any additional stimulus based on the amounts you entered for the first and second stimulus payments. Make sure you enter the correct amounts.

Any stimulus amount remaining due to you will show as a credit on line 30 of your Form 1040.

[jennifer-munsell]

Thank you, that helps a lot! 

[fanfare]

the recovery rebate just adds to your "amount already paid" for 2020. after that, the arithmetic proceeds.

[VTPete]

So for my two stimulus checks, I was missing about $700 in total. The system recognized this and said great news you qualify for a recovery rebate of $695. I did not specifically notice the federal return amount in the upper left hand corner go up by this amount. So I back tracked and tried to trace my steps again and watch it go up and I did not. So maybe it registered already, i did not notice,  and all my actions were not reversing it.

However, I did think it was interesting that if I said I received the proper amount in full (Which I didn't), turbo tax would have given me an additional 300 in my federal return. Why would saying I did receive the proper amount give me more money and then when I switched back to saying I did not receive the proper amount, it still said great you quality for 695, but I did not see the federal return in the upper left increase.

I already submitted my taxes since I was tired of messing with it, but I fear I made a mistake (or the system did).