I owe taxes but the IRS website says I owe nothing

[NCperson]

@vasile1 if you amendment is accepted (high probability), then you are not liable for the $251, even if the IRS doesn't process that amendment for months (which is likely the case).  

There is no need to pay the $251 prior to April 15 and then wait for a refund. 

It's just a matter of amending the tax return (which you have already done) to communicate to the IRS that under ITS RULES, you are not liable for the penalty.  

You have done what is required: you are amending your 2024 tax return to communicate that under the rules for Form 2210 (and 2210ai), you are not liable for an underpayment penalty.  Just sit back and "chill". 

[vasile1]

Hi @NCperson ,

Thank you for the opinion about not having to pay the $251 penalty before the April 15th 2025. That's very assuring, and I appreciate it.

Now, just to be clear: My amended return actually has no info changed specifically in form 2204. Because when I tried to check the Box (A) in Part II of that form, along with indicating a reason, TurboTax has flagged that as an error, because it said: "There is no penalty, and hence boxes A...D in that form must not be checked". Which has really puzzled me (then WHY did TurboTax add a penalty in the ORIGINAL return!?)

So, my amended 2024 tax return basically shows no change in the total tax amount owed. It shows only 2 (two) changes:

(1) A reason why I deemed appropriate for such 1040X form to be filed i.e. as amended return:

I briefly wrote something like "The total tax amount owed was incorrect due to a TurboTax bug. The correct amount is $xyz."

I did NOT mention anything about a penalty. So, in my mind, I considered "tax amount owed" == "total balance to be paid part of the orig return", but technically IRS may argue that the actual tax owed was always correct (feels like a technicality)

(2) The fact that line 37 shows the total expected tax owed, without any penalty, and the penalty line 38 is empty.

That pretty much sums all of my changes in the amendment.

I am not implying that I may still be on the hook for a $251 penalty (or a different figure, possibly lower when calculated by IRS themselves, because I heard that sometimes that may use slightly different methods). I'm only saying that I prefer for IRS to do that calculation, which may end up even in a "we'll let this pass this time" a situation for me.

It's just that I wished TurboTax NOT to interfere with this, and have allowed me to make IRS's online website see only the tax that I owe, part of my 2024 e-filed return. And any additional penalty, if any, to be determined by IRS directly and - very importantly - charged separately.

Someone else has also told me that from a tax and accounting perspective, an amended return has no means to specific changes in penalties (well other than via that form 2210, and probably form 843 which is not part of 1040 / tax return anyway?). So my amended return might not count / not be considered at all.

But as long as IRS can understand that any penalty I am charged with, is not considered part of the April 15 2025 deadline as owed tax payment obligations, and that such additional charge can be paid off separately, and after April 15 (and within a separate grace period / time window as indicated by IRS's explicit bill request sent by mail), then I WILL BE COMFORTABLE and not stressed out.

Thank you so much for your time, your help really means a lot to me.