I accidentally marked "someone can claim" me as a dependent but no one did.

[amaxwell2191]

@TommyC  So it added another 230$ to state refund, but nothing to federal does that mean for federal I was processed as an independent?

[amaxwell2191]

@TommyC 

[TommyC]

@amaxwell2191 Yup that's my understanding. Otherwise you would have probably been eligible for more of a federal return because it viewed you as the head of your own household. 

[NCperson]

@Javy_17 - you are NOT going to miss out.... here is why....'

First, if you try to amend 2019 there is no guidance whether the IRS will immediately send out the stimulus.  maybe they will and maybe the won't.  No one knows at this point and the amendment will take at least 4 months to process.

But here is the guarantee, but you may not like the timing.

• The stimulus payments are really based on your 2020 tax return (income, dependents, etc).
• The IRS is using either 2018 or 2019 – whatever is available  - to ESTIMATE that payment
• When you file next year there will be a “settle up” section on the tax return. 
• If you are due more stimulus (and this would include where you simply never received it), you will receive it through the 2020 tax filing as an additional refund.
• If you received too much stimulus (not the issue here), by law, you are not required to return it 

you will get the stimulus if your 2020 tax return shows you are not able to be claimed by anyone else! 

[amaxwell2191]

@TommyC  Do you know why they would add another 230$ to my state refund?

[NCperson]

@amaxwell2191 - on FEDERAL, that check whether you can be claimed on someone else's tax return CAN, but doesn't always impact your standard deduction, which in turn can impact how much tax you owe.   

[TommyC]

@amaxwell2191 No idea-in my case it had to do with a student program I would have been eligible for. It may just mean that the state didn't process you as a full independent, but that's all conjecture on my part. The double-check was just advice I was given from the correspondent! 

[taxingmangakan]

@TommyC  I don't understand my numbers for my amended return. When I stated that I could not be claimed, and I received my numbers at the end of the process, I'm supposed to get $2,525 from the fed and $237 from state. I have no idea why I'd get that much federally, or why the state would give me anything. I have a child but I didn't claim him as my dependent. I made barely $7,700 on my 2019 tax return. Why am I getting so much from the fed?? Even with the stimulus check and getting back what I paid in taxes, I'd only be getting $1,580.

[Javy_17]

@NCperson But if the next stimulus package passes ,wouldn’t I miss out on it ? (2000 a month) 

[amaxwell2191]

@NCperson  So what your saying is that just because I didn't get anything back on the federal return after changing my status doesn't mean I was processed federally as an independent?

[TommyC]

@taxingmangakan That's beyond me, I'm sorry. It may mean that you were not processed as the head of the household, that's my guess but only my guess. I really don't have much follow up on knowing that. But in your case, if you stand to make double the money of the stimulus check just from your return, I would look at amending as soon as the IRS has an update on accepting paper amendments. 

Keep in mind this checking method may only work if your original return has already been accepted, completed, and refunded. 

[taxingmangakan]

@TommyC   Thank you for the advice! I'm not the head of household, so that makes me even more unsure of why I'm getting this amount.. The whole $2,525 lands under earned income credit. No head of household or dependents. Just little old me lol.

If anyone has any sort of guess as to why this is,that'd be awesome.

[NCperson]

@amaxwell2191 - I had a hard time understanding your statement. so let me state it another way,

checking that box that you CAN be claimed by someone else, sometimes can affect your taxes, but normally doesn't. It has more of an impact for college students who work yet still can be claimed by their parents.

So normally if you are working and not in school, whether you check that box or not is not going to affect your federal taxes refund. it simply won't matter. 

But for stimulus it DOES affect your stimulus payment! if you CAN BE claimed on someone else's return, then you are not eligible for stimulus.  And if the IRS is looking at that check box and you checked it, it's a problem! 

But here is the guarantee, but you may not like the timing.

• The stimulus payments are really based on your 2020 tax return (income, dependents, etc).
• The IRS is using either 2018 or 2019 – whatever is available  - to ESTIMATE that payment
• When you file next year there will be a “settle up” section on the tax return. 
• If you are due more stimulus (and this would include where you simply never received it), you will receive it through the 2020 tax filing as an additional refund.
• If you received too much stimulus (not the issue here), by law, you are not required to return it 

you will get the stimulus next year if your 2020 tax return shows you are not able to be claimed by anyone else! 

makes sense? 

[amaxwell2191]

@NCperson  Got it makes sense to me.

[TommyC]

@taxingmangakan Sound like it's just that- tax credit. In the same way that this stimulus payment will be available for credit for 2020 tax return, you may have been eligible for tax credit this year given that you were not claimed by anyone.