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New Member
posted Jun 3, 2019 10:31:44 AM

I accidentally sent in more money than I owed. Can I get it back?

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24 Replies
New Member
Jun 3, 2019 10:31:45 AM

Hi! According to irs.gov, If you overpaid tax, you can have all or part of the overpayment refunded to you, or you can apply all or part of it to your estimated tax. If you choose to get a refund, it will be sent separately from any refund shown on your original return.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch01.html they do not make this information easy to see. You will find it in the section marked Amended Returns and Claims for Refund.

New Member
Oct 26, 2019 6:06:59 AM

Hi. I did an extension on my taxes this year and sent in money in advance thinking I owed them when in fact I got money back. How do I get that prepaid money back ? 

Level 15
Oct 26, 2019 7:26:43 AM

 


@Sarany1 wrote:

Hi. I did an extension on my taxes this year and sent in money in advance thinking I owed them when in fact I got money back. How do I get that prepaid money back ? 


IF you reported the payment made with the tax extension on your tax return, that amount would have been entered on on Form 1040 Line 17 and on Schedule 5 Line 71.  If you filed your 2018 tax return and are receiving a tax refund then then all or part of your extension payment will be included in the tax refund.  If you filed your 2018 tax return and have taxes owed, then the amount of the extension payment reduced your taxes owed.

Level 1
Mar 28, 2020 3:07:31 PM

I did my taxes and it showed that I owed $311, SO I mailed a check to them for the $311,,, BUT I did "not" know that the payment was made from my Credit card that i used to pay Turbo Tax,,, so then I mailed them a personal check for the SAME $311,,, Which made me double paid on my Federal taxes!!! I called them and they said they did receive the DOUBLE payment  and would send the $311 dollars back! BUT, I have not got it YET,, and I paid double on February 22nd! How long will it take to get the $311 back???!!!

Intuit Alumni
Mar 28, 2020 3:20:34 PM

@turnmeloose68 The IRS states that it takes 4-6 weeks to receive your refund of overpayment. Also, if you have not received your refund in that time frame, you should contact the IRS.

Please see this IRS link for more information. Understanding Your CP268 Notice | Internal Revenue Service

 

If you need to contact the IRS, please see the contact information below:

How do I contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)?

 

Note: 

You will need to follow the prompts in order to speak to an IRS agent. There is a high call volume this time of year.

When calling the IRS do NOT choose Option 1.   

Choose Option 2 after you choose the language.   

Then Press 1    

Then Press 3   

Then Press 2, it will then transfer you to an agent.  

Level 1
Mar 28, 2020 3:56:02 PM

Thank You!!!!!!!!!!!!! To the responding Turbo Tax Agent!!!!! Ren S.

New Member
Jul 15, 2020 6:18:59 PM

I accidentally paid federal taxes instead of state when I didn't owe federal, can I get a refund or what can I do?

New Member
Jul 17, 2020 3:39:36 PM

I did the same thing this year...did anybody get their refund back?

Level 15
Jul 17, 2020 4:09:28 PM

How did you pay the feds by accident ?   Did you mail in a payment with the return ?  Did you mail it with the wrong return ?   

New Member
Aug 18, 2020 7:28:17 AM

I did this too. I have tried for many hours upon hours to get in touch with the IRS. My problem was because of covid we never got to actually see our taxes we just signed electronically and on 7/15 I panicked and paid the IRS instead of our State, ugh! Now it is nearly impossible to get in touch with the IRS to get our money back. Everything I read says 3 weeks for a refund but it has been 4 weeks and I haven't received anything yet. Does anyone have any information on how to get the IRS to answer your call?  

New Member
Aug 18, 2020 7:35:08 AM

Every time I call it tells me they do not have enough staff to take my call and to try again tomorrow. If you try again "tomorrow" it says the same thing. I don't know what else to do. I have literally spent hours online trying to figure this out. Any other help? Thanks! 

Level 15
Aug 18, 2020 7:47:32 AM


@clarks678 wrote:

Every time I call it tells me they do not have enough staff to take my call and to try again tomorrow. If you try again "tomorrow" it says the same thing. I don't know what else to do. I have literally spent hours online trying to figure this out. Any other help? Thanks! 


Many users have reported that they can get an IRS agent if they call first thing in the morning or the last hour during the evening.

 

Call the IRS: 1-800-829-1040 hours 7 AM - 7 PM local time Monday-Friday
When calling the IRS do NOT choose the first option re: "Refund", or it will send you to an automated phone line.
So after first choosing your language, then do NOT choose Option 1 (refund info). Choose option 2 for "personal income tax" instead.
Then press 1 for "form, tax history, or payment".
Then press 3 "for all other questions."
Then press 2 "for all other questions."
- When it asks you to enter your SSN or EIN to access your account information, don't enter anything.
- After it asks twice, you will get another menu.

Press 2 for personal or individual tax questions.
Then press 4 for all other inquiries
It should then transfer you to an agent.

New Member
Sep 8, 2020 11:58:10 AM

I also did this. My tax helper said to " go to irs,gov and make your payment." Sadly it was the STATE that was supposed to get the payment (like $ 2,800!) Did not even realize the error until I got a bill from the sate saying I never paid them. 

Anyway, I made that payment to the IRS back in early MARCH. Online at the IRS site is shows my payment, but in five months I have still received no communication about it. I also cannot get someone on the phone.

I would be fine leaving it as a balance on the account if I knew for sure that it can be applied to my 2020 taxes next year. But I cannot even get anyone on the phone about it.

Level 15
Sep 8, 2020 12:17:40 PM

Sadly the IRS will take longer this year to notice the overpayment however they will eventually refund it ...  call if you want or can. 

New Member
Feb 9, 2021 8:59:07 AM

Where in this year taxes do I apply my over payment for 2019

Level 15
Feb 9, 2021 9:26:55 AM


@Histeria2020 wrote:

Where in this year taxes do I apply my over payment for 2019


To enter, change or delete a refund from the prior year applied to this years taxes (Federal, State, Local) -

Click on Federal Taxes (Personal using Home and Business)
Click on Deductions and Credits
Click on I'll choose what I work on (if shown)
Scroll down to Estimates and Other Taxes Paid
On Other Income Taxes, click on the start or update button


On the next screen select the options under 2019 Refund Applied to 2020


Or enter refund applied to this year in the Search box located in the upper right of the program screen. Click on Jump to refund applied to this year


The prior year refund amount applied is shown on Form 1040 Line 26

Level 1
Mar 19, 2021 8:41:06 AM

this just happened to me too. I elected to pay via TurboTax the day after I did my taxes but it didn't post to my account so a couple days later I paid IRS manually thru their site. Then they were finally paid again via TurboTax. I am now overdrawn and will incur penalties. This is a confusing aspect of TurboTax and needs to be fixed! There was no info anywhere as to the status of my payment to the IRS via TurboTax.

Level 15
Mar 19, 2021 8:45:43 AM

Turbo Tax doesn't pay or send your tax due.  It only transmits your bank info to the IRS.  Then the IRS debits your account on the date you specified or later.  It may take them longer to pull it and they have extended the due date to May 17.  I don't think they ever debit your account right away as soon as you file.  You need to give them time to process your return and payment.

Level 1
Apr 16, 2021 8:20:00 AM

Same scenario as some: When the IRS didn't take my money by the 15th, I also panicked and went to IRS.GOV and submitted a payment. This means I paid my remaining taxes twice.

 

Spoke to a nice lady at the IRS, she said that assuming I designated the money correctly (e.g., pay 2020 taxes) which I did (as opposed to estimated taxes), they will catch the overpayment while processing my return and automatically issue a refund. Eventually. She did say that it usually takes several weeks or a couple of months for the refund. She also noted that I can call back after a while and they'll verify that they caught the overpayment.

 

No need for 1040X or any other form in this particular case, it's automatic.

Level 15
Apr 16, 2021 8:59:18 AM

All balance due returns are on the back burner right now while the IRS concentrates  on returns with refunds,  processing the pile of 2019 returns they still need to attend to and  putting out third stimulus checks all while continuing to be understaffed due to covid.  

 

The account will be debited on or AFTER the date you selected WHEN they finally get around to processing your return which may take months.   If the debit did not happen yet and you already paid online then it is possible they will not debit the account a second time.  If they did then it could take months for them to catch the overpayment and refund the excess.  All one can do is wait patiently.  

Level 1
Apr 29, 2021 8:08:41 PM

Hi there, I've just had the same exact thing happen! How long did it take for you to receive your money back? Did you have to do anything? Thanks for any info you can provide.

Expert Alumni
Apr 30, 2021 7:27:19 AM

Anytime you have an overpayment to the IRS, the money is first applied to any outstanding balances then refunded.  This year I cannot say how long that would take as this is a very different year for processing tax returns.  You can just be assured you will receive proper credit for the overpayment.

Level 1
Jul 28, 2021 1:45:59 PM

Did you ever resolve this issue? The same thing happened to me. 

Level 1
Jul 28, 2021 4:20:31 PM

Yes! It took a bit of time but the IRS sent me a cheque.