IRS is requesting “missing documents” and signatures

[Savina]

I filed TurboTax online and my return was accepted by the IRS May 2021, but I just received a copy of my 1040 from the IRS with a green paper that had several missing items checked. I think they are sending this to me based on the first payment I mailed to them, but I want to make sure they are not needing information they should have received from TurboTax. I mailed a check along with the payment coupon I received with my downloaded documents when I filed. Why are they requesting additional forms and evidence/proof of the numbers on my 1040, as well as a hand written signature?

UPDATE: Thank you to anyone who attempted to help... I've concluded that I'm not going to get an answer to this question here, and will need to keep trying to get through to someone at the IRS for confirmation that my 2020 Tax Filing is indeed complete in their system (as it shows online), and they did apply my payments to the 2020 tax I owe (as shown in their system online), and get more clarification for what they are asking for on the green form they mailed me, or if that was a misunderstanding/mistake.

[DanPaul02]

If you tell us what forms were missing, we can tell you if TurboTax should have sent them.

[Critter-3]

Why ?   Because they can at any time request any supporting documents at any time for any reason.  But did you actually  mail in the 1040 form and not just the 1040V ?  And also efile the return and got a confirmation that the return was accepted for processing ?    If you did they are confused so send the requested information as directed  ASAP. 

[Savina]

I e-filed online with TurboTax and verified today online that my return was filed and accepted by the IRS (according to TurboTax) in May. When I filed I requested a payment plan and received 4 payment vouchers to print with my documents to have for my records.

I just logged into my account on the IRS site and they never received my payment plan request, so they think I’m just not paying. There was a threatening notice to pay immediately so I set up a payment plan directly with them.

I don’t understand where the vouchers came from if that wasn’t actually relayed to the IRS, and feel that TurboTax should not be giving those out if they are not valid. TurboTax should be advising people to go to the IRS website to set up an online account and request a payment plan.

[VolvoGirl]

No.  The 4 vouchers are 1040ES estimated payments.  They are not for your tax due but are ESTIMATED payments for NEXT year so you don't end up owing too much again.  They are optional to pay and the IRS won't be expecting them.  They didn't get sent with your return.

[Savina]

IRS sent a green form 3531 asking for “a valid original signature”, “supporting documents for federal income tax withheld amount”, “form 1 to support line 8”, and “form 3 to support line 20”.

This was sent to me in response to the check and payment voucher I mailed to the address on the voucher which is in NC, but it looks like they forwarded the FedEx shipment to Austin.

I’m guessing they got the payment/voucher from me and maybe their system wasn’t updated with my actual filing yet so they thought what I sent them was my official tax filing? Although they had no problem depositing my check.

On the IRS site when I logged in, said the filing was received and showed the amount I owed less my payment they already received.

[Savina]

I requested a 4 month payment plan and received 4 vouchers totaling the amount I owed in taxes and the vouchers had due dates of this year. So I’m not sure how that works out to an estimate for payments next year when the due dates were starting in April of 2021? I have never received these before and never requested a payment plan before. I don’t think anyone would not have assumed after asking for a 4 month payment plan, that these weren’t the 4 payment vouchers to send with your payments?

[Savina]

I also assumed the vouchers TurboTax providing with my filing were for my payments I requested (in addition to the fact that the amounts matched what I owed) because there was no other instruction given about how or where to make payments. If those vouchers were not for the payment plan I requested, then how would I know where to send my payments to if I filed electronically on TurboTax?

[VolvoGirl]

Yes they are prepayments for next year when we do our 2021 return.  They are 4 quarterly payments.  The 1040ES quarterly estimates are due April 15,  June 15, Sept 15 and Jan 18, 2022.  Your state will also have their own estimate forms.

Turbo Tax calculated them because you owed too much on your tax return this year.  They are like withholding taken out of your paychecks.   Nothing to do with your 2020 return now.

[VolvoGirl]

The Turbo Tax cover sheet should list them and where to send them.   Download the whole pdf of your return and look though it.

How to get a copy after filing

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/prior-year-return/help/how-do-i-get-a-copy-of-a-return-i-filed-thi...

Here's an alternate way to print by opening the filed return back up to print at the Print Center, where you can also get the worksheets.

Log in and at the Tax Home or in the section Your Tax Returns & Documents for 2020, look for a link Add a State.  Click on Add a State.  (you don't really add one.  That's just to open your return back up.)

After the return is open, click in the left menu column on TAX TOOLS, then PRINT CENTER.

Then choose Print, save, view this year's return.

The next screen should offer some options:  Just my tax returns or include government worksheets (optional), or include government and TurboTax worksheets (optional.)

[Savina]

Thank you. I did save my return as a pdf and there were no instructions for how or where to make payments unfortunately. And I guess I’m just victim to really bad timing that I received these estimate vouchers I’ve never received before, at the same time that I asked for a 4-payment plan, and the vouchers were provided with my filing I saved, and exactly the same amount I owed.

Seems like the estimated payment vouchers should be presented a little differently on the site when someone is filing so it’s understandable to anyone who is not a tax expert, or possibly someone like me who has never received them.

The only reason we owed this much is because my stepson we have always claimed was claimed by his mother and we weren’t informed this would be the case earlier in the year in order to adjust our W-4s. I don’t anticipate there being an issue next year because we’ve since adjusted our withholding.

[Mike9241]

there are no forms 1 or 3 for the 2020 1040. Therefore, it is nothing that has to do with the Turbotax e-filing.

[VolvoGirl]

But there is a Schedule 1 and 3.

[Savina]

Could they have thought that my payment was an estimated prepayment for next year since the voucher I sent with it was actually a prepayment voucher, rather than for my current tax owed? And those forms they are requesting are related to a prepayment? I just have no idea what they are wanting from me, or how to go about finding out. The payment I sent was applied to my current taxes owed for 2020.

I tried calling them previously to verify the payment dates and never got through to a human being, so I’m hesitant to spend an hour trying again tomorrow.

[Savina]

It said “schedule or form ____” with the numbers written in. So what is schedule 1 and 3 and would these have been provided by TurboTax?