IRS Notice CP11 says I owe Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) Back!

[scconne1]

My Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) was below $150K (married filed jointly) and still received an IRA Notice CP11 saying that I owe the RRC back ($1,400)! The notice even confirms my AGI as <$150K which matched Turbo Tax (TT) amount! I tried to call the IRS 800 number several times but due to call volume they tell you to call back later. I'll send a letter instead.

Is this a common issue that others have experienced?

[Bsch4477]

Check your bank account for March-April 2021 to see if you already received that credit. 

[Vanessa A]

Clairification...You owe it back as in you received it prior to filing your tax return and they are saying you are not eligible for it or you owe it back because you claimed it on your tax return and they sent it to you?  The second seems less likely as the IRS was making adjustments to returns before sending the recovery rebate to people who already received them.

What exactly does the letter say the reason is you have to repay it is?

Yes, issues with the Recovery Rebate this year are common, however, having to pay it back hasn't been a common problem, most people are having their refunds recalculated to remove it when they have already received it but said they didn't. 

[Pa-mom]

We just received the same letter & I can’t figure out the error. Was yours resolved?

[scconne1]

I tried calling the IRA but they are so busy you can not even leave a message, so, I sent a letter with Turbotax return attached showing that we were under the $150K limit and should be able to take full credit for the Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) of $1,400. To date, I have not heard back from the IRS and will send tax I/Turbotax  say is owed by 4/17/2022. This may be a mistake on my part since since normal practice is to send them what they ask for and then petition them for a correction/rebate later, but I'm confident that the mistake is on their end. I'm assuming that thousands of people received the same letter and may just give back the $1,400 RRC without question!

[DawnC]

Check your IRS Account - you will probably find that they sent the check last year.    If you have been filing tax returns for several years and your AGI is not high enough to disqualify you, it is very unlikely that you did not receive the payment.   It is likely that you did not know you received it, but very unlikely that they did not send it.   

For the first and second stimulus payment - your eligibility depends on your 2020 AGI number

For the 3rd payment, your eligibility depends on your 2021 AGI number.   

It is possible to qualify for the first and 2nd payment, but not the 3rd.   It is also possible to qualify for the 3rd, but not the first two.  

Access Tax Records (use this link)

• View key data from your most recently filed tax return, including your adjusted gross income, and access transcripts
• View information about your Economic Impact Payments
• View information about your advance Child Tax Credit payments
• View digital copies of certain notices from the IRS

[scconne1]

The IRS letter states five reasons for why they say I owe more money. Three of the reasons have to do with claiming dependents (not applicable to me), one for AGI over $150K and the last for "computed incorrectly". If either of the last two are the issue, then Turbotax made the mistake and the error is in the their program. I, like everyone else, received IRS letter 6475 stating amount of Economic Impact Payment we received and that this amount must be part of your 2021 tax return to receive the RRC credit, which I did.

[VolvoGirl]

You have to reconcile the amount you got on your tax return.  The Recovery Rebate credit on 1040 line 30 is only if you didn't get the full amount or qualify for more.  Do you have an amount on line 30?  You tried to claim it twice.  But you already got it.   Line 30 should be blank.  

And if you are married you should each get letter 6475 for half.  Did you enter the total amount you received on the Stimulus page?  

[afish]

This happened to me too and it turns out that Turbo Tax was unclean in determining this credit. I ended up having to pay it back, which is fine, but now I am trying to figure out where/how to include the repayment on my 2021 tax return. Anyone else have this issue?

[VolvoGirl]

You don't include the repayment on your return.  Or are you trying to make your 2021 return the same as the IRS adjusted?  Don't worry about that.  

[scconne1]

Got it figured out today with help from a Turbo Tax rep. I do owe $1,400 more on my return due to how I answered one of Turbo Tax's questions regarding stimulus payment. When doing my taxes Turbo Tax noted that my wife and I did receive a total of $2,800, but then asked the question if this amount matched the IRS Letter 6475? I answered NO because I had received only one letter from the IRS and it showed $1,400 only (I was confused why the letter didn't show $2,800?). By answering NO that added a Recovery Rebate Credit of $1,400 to 1040-SR, Line 30. I had no idea that the IRS was sending out separate letters even if you filed married joint (did finally receive the other letter but after the fact) and they sent me the money in one lump sum so I assumed it was handled jointly? Anyway this added to my confusion which lead me to incorrectly answer NO. It would have helped (me) if Turbo Tax would have asked the question differently or explained that the IRS was "treating" the stimulus payments individually. Hope this helps anyone else that might have been confused like me

[fanfare]

@scconne1 

You are one of few people who actually got an incorrect Recovery Rebate from the IRS.

And then had to pay it back.

That is so rare I've never seen it reported before on this forum.

You're probably misreading your notice from IRS.

[scconne1]

Let me be clear the mistake is on me for how I answered the question in Turbo Tax. I'm not eligible for a credit since we (my wife and I) received our stimulus money. I was simply confused on how the question was asked since I only had one 6475 letter in hand (the other letter came after I filed).  My point was maybe Turbo Tax could have had a little more info related to how they asked the question, that's all

[moleffall]

why im i getting a notice after i have filed my taxes stating  i owe 1,143 for recovery rebate credit and none of the items specified appied to me what do i do

[VolvoGirl]

@scconne1   The screen asks for letter(s).....and has more info