I received a TurboTax email saying"...you will need to file an amended federal tax return." But on web it says "Most taxpayers should not amend for the unemployment tax"

[Critter-3]

Once filed you cannot stop a return the IRS already has.  

Millions are still held up in processing for those things no matter which program that was used so all you can do is wait. Sadly there is no way to track it or speed it up.

And FYI ... the notice TT sent out did not say you needed to amend  ... it said you "MAY" need to amend if the unemployment exclusion made you eligible for a credit not already listed on the original return and that the IRS was going to make the exclusion corrections themselves.  Rule #1 of amending says you should not amend anything while the IRS is still processing your original return.  When you start the amendment process the first thing they ask is if you already got the original refund and if you say no it says to wait.  

[rcollierd]

This is incorrect. I HAVE the email. It says "will" not "may"

I got my return back already. I filed back in feb. In May I hot an email from turbotax saying i will need to amend. So i did that. I find out days later I didn't need too. This is 100% a mistake on Turbotax's part and it would be great if they would at least acknowledge it. My family is obviously not the only one hurt by them sending us an email with false info that has our money backed up for months. I don't know how you think you're helping by telling me what you think my email says. Here is what it states exactly

"

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Your 2020 Tax Return

Getting too much email? Unsubscribe

TurboTax

To:

[email address removed]

Wed 4/28/2021 1:35 PM

Dear TurboTax Customer, We are following up on our earlier email regarding the increased Unemployment benefits. Great news! In addition to the unemployment benefits, you may now be eligible for additional deductions, credits or benefits on your 2020 TurboTax federal and state returns. Unemployment Income: Based on the recently passed American Rescue Plan, the first $10,200 of your unemployment income may now be tax-free. Since you filed before this law was in place, you could be owed an additional payment from the IRS. Additional Deductions and Credits: Now that some of your unemployment income is tax free, your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) may be lower. This means that you could now be eligible for additional deductions and credits. In order to claim any additional deductions and credits you are now eligible for, you will need to file an amended federal AND state tax return. Amending is easy, and our experts are here to help. Simply log in to your account and select "Amend using TurboTax Online," and we'll guide you through it. In the unlikely event that these additional credits or deductions result in a product upgrade with additional fees, just continue with the amend process. You will reach a screen with instructions on how to contact an expert who will remove the fees. Everyone will be able to file their amended returns to gain these benefits at no additional cost.   Thank you again for being a TurboTax customer.   Sincerely,   TurboTax Care Team" In case you missed it "In order to claim any additional deductions and credits you are now eligible for, you will need to file an amended federal AND state tax return" This is an issue.

[Critter-3]

Once again you  are not reading the entire email ... they are not talking about amending for the unemployment exclusion.   They are talking about other items you MAY now be entitiled to  that were not on the original return.   NOTE :   you may now be eligible for additional deductions, credits or benefits   and if you are only then will you need to amend ... but once again you should only amend AFTER the IRS has fully processed the return which is happening in 2 parts this year.  So you technically amended too early and it will not even be looked at until the original return has been processed first.  And even then amended returns are taking more than 4 months to process ... could be up to a year.

Dear TurboTax Customer,

We are following up on our earlier email regarding the increased Unemployment benefits. Great news! In addition to the unemployment benefits, you may now be eligible for additional deductions, credits or benefits on your 2020 TurboTax federal and state returns.

Unemployment Income: Based on the recently passed American Rescue Plan, the first $10,200 of your unemployment income may now be tax-free. Since you filed before this law was in place, you could be owed an additional payment from the IRS.

Additional Deductions and Credits: Now that some of your unemployment income is tax free, your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) may be lower. This means that you could now be eligible for additional deductions and credits.

In order to claim any additional deductions and credits you are now eligible for, you will need to file an amended federal AND state tax return.

Amending is easy, and our experts are here to help. Simply log in to your account and select "Amend using TurboTax Online," and we'll guide you through it. In the unlikely event that these additional credits or deductions result in a product upgrade with additional fees, just continue with the amend process. You will reach a screen with instructions on how to contact an expert who will remove the fees. Everyone will be able to file their amended returns to gain these benefits at no additional cost.
 
Thank you again for being a TurboTax customer.
 
Sincerely,
 
TurboTax Care Team"

In case you missed it

"In order to claim any additional deductions and credits you are now eligible for, you will need to file an amended federal AND state tax return"

This is an issue.

[rcollierd]

It's a confusing mess of an email that didn't need to get sent. It didn't just **bleep** me over but also plenty of other families who are in need. Taxes are just chock full of confusing jargon and this was very poorly worded. I know it isn't just me.

Also, if you would read my previous reply, I stated that my original return was already accepted and paid out before i amended. 

I made the mistake of amending, but would not have made this mistake had turbotax not sent a confusingly worded email telling me to amend. Turbotax needs to acknowledge they made an error. I will not be gaslit by this company

[grey4]

Right… and if you were one of those people trying to make sure you received ALL credits to get you’re money then you amended. Still misleading, because in all actuality we didn’t have to amend anything! That’s the whole point of the comment. 

[jmansf]

YES!  @grey4  You said it perfectly.  Some of us filed and got our original refund.  Then we got an email from Turbo Tax saying "Great NEWS you don't have to do anything to receive your refund for the unemployment credit"  then a month after that we received an email that said (basically not word for word) "Great News- you may qualify for more credits now that your unemployment refund changes your income level... you will need to amend your return in order to qualify for these credits".  I am not sure what Critter is trying to accomplish with the argument- we clearly were misled by Turbo Tax with these messages and now our funds are on hold due to the confusion their emails caused.   

At the end of the day- all of us received the message and all of us made the same choice based on the way the email was worded. We amended our returns and now  we are stuck waiting until the IRS gets to our amended taxes to issue not only our unemployment refund but also our child tax credit- which after the pandemic and unemployment benefits cut short (in some states) - we desperately need. There are too many people who are in the same boat to keep defending the verbage in the email Turbo Tax sent out. 

[Critter-3]

Ok ... my point is the email clearly said "may" need to amend "if "    so would you not be more angry if TT didn't send out any alerts at all and you missed the extra credits you could get if eligible.

So many are complaining about the alert that did go out (that they accidentally misread or misunderstood)  that they are not considering the other option of no alert at all from TT.  Can you imagine the furor if TT didn't pass along the info from the IRS on how the unemployment exclusion could possibly affect the tax return.  Many times there have been tax law changes after a taxpayer has filed and TT combs thru them and sends out alerts that something MAY need to be corrected.  There is always the option to call for clarification or assistance on that email alert.

If you had any questions ( and many did) you should have posted them here on the forum or called TT support for help in understanding the notice.  May I suggest in the future that you literally read the notice out loud to yourself so you don't skip the little words that make a difference ... I do it all the time so I can slow down and read all the important little  words instead of skimming over them. 

Again ... as my teacher once said ... slow down and read the entire line and ask questions before rather than later.   As a DIY program you are the one ultimately responsible for your own actions. 

[rcollierd]

You are insanely condescending. Do you work for Turbotax? Or do you jusg go to websites like this to find people who made a relatively easy mistake due to needlessly confusing directions and insult their intelligence for fun?

I had no idea these forums existed until I had a problem because I didn't know I HAD a problem yet. I did as instructed by the email, in the way that made sense to me. 

[grey4]

Exactly the reason I filed for a amended return was for that sentence. You may now be eligible for additional deductions, credits, or benefits. I fell under that category, which again is why I amended. As well as other people that are in the same boat. If there was nothing to be done and this was not guaranteed, then the email should not have been sent out in the first place. This was already a vulnerable time for many of families and individuals this year. There should be no room for confusion. I’m here for you sticking up for TurboTax but if this issue is not your problem then kindly don’t comment. This is for the people that read and reread that email and in the end got stiffed by this company. Since its so self explanatory. 

[jmansf]

Just an update... Finally received my unemployment tax refund due to the amendment. Hoping this means that my CTC will kick in for the Sept round of payments. Hoping the rest of you are starting to see some relief as well. 

[teenthompson]

This is EXACTLY what happened to me. Amending my return, not only caused a delay in receiving my unemployment tax refund, my refund amount was reduced more than $1000 from what it should have been and the IRS rep I spoke to bluntly told me that I shouldn’t have amended. As if I was being penalized for doing so. On top of this, I didn’t receive the first child tax credit payment that went out and while I did receive the next two, all of a sudden, my status is back to pending eligibility so, I didn’t receive October’s and November isn’t looking very hopeful either. The IRS is basically like, “you’ll get what we feel like giving you, when we feel like it”. They don’t care if they miscalculated nor do they intend to provide tangible evidence to support their calculations. If they’re wrong, so what? Turbo Tax, you truly suck! I hope you lose so many customers that you go belly up. 

[teenthompson]

You would think that to be the case, but I assure you, amending your return will result in significant reduction to the amount you would otherwise be due. An IRS rep told me point blank, “you should not have filed an amended return”. As if, I was being penalized for filing an amended return. Seeing others experiencing the exact same issues only leads me to believe, this was a calculated move intended to reduce and/or delay refunds to thousands of people. 

[teenthompson]

Turbo Tax actually had someone call me and insist that I file an amended return. This went against every bit of information found online about how unemployment refunds were to be handled so, I brushed the call off. Then after receiving two emails following the call I received, I contacted Turbo Tax directly to ask why I was being encouraged to amended when every media outlet was saying otherwise. The Turbo Tax rep said that if I received an email instructing me to amend then I needed to amend. So I did. As far as I’m concerned, Turbox Tax should be responsible for compensating customers that have been negatively impacted due to their incompetent guidance AND fully refund any tax prep funds they were paid.

[teenthompson]

These issues were not caused due to a misunderstanding of this email. I contacted Turbo Tax directly to question how I needed to proceed after I received a call from TurboTax and 2 emails and the rep I spoke to insisted that if I received correspondence instructing me to amend, then I needed to amend. Amending your return was EXACTLY what the email from TurboxTax was telling customers to do.

[teenthompson]

Nope and don’t be surprised if you get far less than the amount you should be getting back because of it.