May 2020, Lost my Turbo Card (w/wallet), ordered replacement but never received. Thought balance was <= $75, but actually had stimulus deposited. Found out 2022? Taxes?

[Kurt4romB4]

I waited for the new replacement for months and I forgot all about the turbo card because I believed it only contained less than $75 and I also believed that during my wait for replacement that the monthly fees would be returned.  I was wrong, green dot refused to refund any of the fees and they failed to even notify me about the balance. Turns out that the IRS deposited my stimulus (something in the neighborhood of 3,600), but I cannot see that far back via account.  

I did not know there was such a balance because my card was canceled and new replacement never arrived. When I logged into my account it showed a zero balance. 

Finally when I called them in May 2022 to request another replacement and to ask for my fees to be reversed since I didn’t have access to the account for the 2 years they then notified me that it had a balance of $3,200.  I was blown away, because I had no idea of this deposit and I was never notified by any means other than IRS sent me 5 letterheads with different amount of stimulus.  Although I thought I never received it, actually green dot was sitting on it and failed to tell me. 

So in order to avoid paying penalties and fees unjustly, how should I proceed moving forward.  I never filed 2021 taxes due to this inconsistency with IRS deposit amount didn’t match what I received.  I actually was upside down on my taxes if I listed the deposits on my 2021 and owed $1,200. However, being that one deposit wasn’t available to me and I had zero knowledge of it, can I defer this to 2022? Lastly, how do I get even with green dot for screwing me over?

Please advise how to show this on my taxes and whether or not this was all my fault? (If you aren’t going to be constructive, then just keep it to yourself)

[ErnieS0]

Amounts deposited into your Turbo card will show in IRS records as stimulus amounts being paid to you.

The IRS will not allow you to claim those amounts as a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2021 tax return. 

Check your IRS online account. This will show you how much stimulus IRS paid you through Green Dot, according to their records. If you qualified for more than was deposited into your Green Dot account, you can get that amount back by filing a 2021 tax return.

There is no option to add missing stimulus payments to the 2022 return. You either have to file or amend your 2020 (for the first and second payments) and 2021 for the third payment.

Once the money is deposited with Green Dot, you will have to deal with them for any recoveries.

[Kurt4romB4]

I am well aware that I wouldn't be able to claim this as recovery rebate in 2022 tax year.  Maybe my question wasn't clear.

Details of fact: 

- I did not file year 2021 taxes due to discrepancy with IRS regarding amount of my stimulus payment. 

- I could not make an account to view my IRS details via the irs.gov, because it required verifying information with a Student Loan, Car Loan, Mortgage or Credit Card. (This has changed and no longer required to create an account as of late 2021)

- I received 5 letters from the white house regarding my stimulus payments. All 5 were for the same stimulus but had different amounts.  

- I was totally unaware that there was a stimulus payment in a green dot account because I did not have a replacement card and when I logged into the app, it showed me a zero balance.  I never received any notice that there were funds sitting for 2 years and charging maintenance fees throughout those years. 

My question is:

I am going to file the 2021 tax year,, but is there any recourse for me this since they technically withheld my funds and I was unaware that they were deposited to greendot until 2022?  

I think it was totally unprofessional of them to hold those funds and never send a letter or email stating the funds were in the account being slowly drained away.

Did they do anything illegal in their failure to communicate the funds?

Since I didn't have access to those funds (only realizing after the fact that they existed), can I submit my previous tax year 2021, 1040EZ late and check the box that I didn't receive my stimulus under recovery rebate section since I technically did not receive it?  I

'm not trying to do anything illegal and I am not trying to get a double recovery rebate, but if it was any other form of income, it would be included on the tax year that I actually received those funds or had access to them such as a check.  I am also pretty upset with Green-Dot and I'm certain that there is somewhere I can submit a complaint for recourse in the matter.  Now my late return has penalties only because I had no idea how to find my stimulus money and was trying to be accurate in recovery rebate. 

[ErnieS0]

TurboTax is not trained to provide legal advice. Contact a lawyer if you have questions about potential legal claims against Green Dot.

You cannot include any stimulus payments sent to Green Dot as payments that were not received. If IRS records show $xxx was sent to Green Dot, IRS will subtract $xxx from your Rebate Recovery Credit. This will delay processing your return.

Since you are unsure of your exact stimulus amount, you can claim $0 as your Rebate Recovery Credit, with the understanding IRS will fix your return. You will receive your stimulus amount minus what was sent to Green Dot.

If you cannot verify yourself online, you can do that in person at an IRS office. You will need to make an appointment in advance.

Contact Your Local IRS Office

If you did not use TurboTax last year, you can buy the 2021 program, complete your return and mail it.

To purchase 2021 tax software go to File your 2021 taxes.

[Kurt4romB4]

So, I am confused.  For some reason looking at my issue I noticed that logging into secure.turbodebitcard.com it shows no transaction history at all and has a different account number assigned to it.  However, when I login to myturbocard.com it shows all transactions with a different account number. This is a conflict since I’m using the same login and passwords.  

This is definitely an issue and possibly the reason I had no knowledge of the funds.  I logged in many times and it showed me a zero balance with no transactions and still does. 

Why in the world would this be happening? Apparently I have 2 accounts using same login thru 2 different portals and managed by green dot TurboTax.  

So this issue is multi layered.  I believe that I will have to seek legal counsel and request an IRS trace since the second login where it was deposited wasn't an account that I acknowledged or approved. 

[CarissaM]

You would need to contact Green Dot directly here, as Turbo Tax receives no record of anything deposited onto your card. @Kurt4romB4