ERROR in Turbo Tax Calculations for Federal Economic Stimulus Payment Due To TT FORM "Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet".

[richclark17]

I have used Turbo Tax for several years and have been pleased with the result every year until now. 

In my case, TT indicates that we were eligible for "a third stimulus payment of $4,200".  That amount didn't match the amounts on the 6475 letters, so I selected the 'No' option.  As required in TT, I entered the total amount that we received, which was $2800.  Therefore, on line 30 of the 1040, the amount shows $1400.  I would understand this to mean that we should be receiving another $1400.  After all of this, my refund calculated in TT was $422.  Like many others, I received the CP11 notice indicating that I owe $978 instead.  ($978 + $422 = $1400).  In the end, I'm not surprised that I have to give back money that came for 'free' from the federal government.

I reviewed the other posts on this topic and have come to the following conclusions:

- Obviously, with this many people having the same problem, something needs to be corrected in Turbo Tax.  Perhaps the TT calculations are correct, but my opinion is that the questions relating to the Recovery Rebate need to be clarified in the future. 

- For those responding to posts on behalf of Intuit, I suggest spending less time defending Turbo Tax and spending more time apologizing for the problem and stating what Intuit will do to correct this going forward.  

Best wishes to all.

[xmasbaby0]

@richclark17   "defending TurboTax" is not the point.   Those of us who are answering questions in this forum do not work for TurboTax.   We are other users who volunteer to help.   We are seeing a lot of users who were confused when they prepared 2021 returns.   Many of them made mistakes related to the child tax credit and/or recovery rebate credit, resulting in reduced refunds.   We have been trying to help them understand what went wrong so that they do not continue to expect "more" of a refund to arrive--as some do.   And, since the more detailed letter from the IRS often is not sent until weeks after the reduced refunds arrive, we try to help them look at their returns to discern what might have gone wrong while they await the IRS letter.

Going forward, you should not have to worry about a problem with a recovery rebate credit for 2022, since Congress has not issued any stimulus checks in 2022.

It sounds like you may have had three people on your 2021 return----a joint return with one dependent?   If you received the 3rd EIP in 2021, the IRS letter 6475 went to both spouses---with half the amount on each of the letters.   Check your letters again---what did each one show?   If you received a total of $4200 in 2021 then each spouse would have a letter showing $2100----for a total of $4200.    If you really only received $2800 in 2021, and added a dependent to your 2021 return, then you are correct that you should have had $1400 on line 30 for that additional person.

https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account

Check the online account for EACH spouse under each person's SSN.

If you need to trace a payment that the IRS says has been issued to you, mail or fax a completed IRS Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund.

Updated IRS FAQ about recovery rebate credit

https://www.irs.gov/pub/taxpros/fs-2022-27.pdf

[NCperson]

@richclark17 - most common mistake: 

that letter 6475...there were TWO letters with half the money on each letter.  did you add them together?

[richclark17]

TT reads "If you or (spouse) got multiple payments for either round, enter the total, or enter 0 if you didn't get a payment."

It's asking for the amount of payments that were received, not the total of the 6475 letters.

[VolvoGirl]

Better double check your bank statements and check your IRS account to see when and what they sent you.
https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account

If you didn't get some of the 3rd Stimulus check but the IRS shows they sent it to you then request a trace for a missing third Stimulus payment
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/questions-and-answers-about-the-third-economic-impact-payment-topic-j-p...

[richclark17]

I have logged into the IRS website with my account and found where it indicates they sent us $2800. 

[VolvoGirl]

Did you check each of your IRS accounts?  Each spouse should show half.  How much were both the 6475 letters?  Were they each 1400 or 2800 or 2100 or ?  If your account shows 2800 then maybe your spouse's account also shows another 2800 or 1400.  

How many people were on your 2020 return?  Did you change the number of dependents on 2021?  Like add a new child or delete a dependent?  Maybe you replaced a dependent with another dependent so you had the same # of people?  

[NCperson]

@richclark17 - I suspect the IRS sent YOU  (not "us") $2800.... look on your spouse's transcript.....that number is separate

To clear the debate, just look in your bank accoutn records from March - May, 2021. How much was deposited? I bet it was not $2800.

[richclark17]

You are correct about the amount we received after I double checked.  However, that doesn't change the fact that the TT wording on this is confusing. 

[xmasbaby0]

@richclark17 When you are preparing your tax return, come to the user forum for help when a question confuses you---we can help prevent problems if you ask before you file.