Mistake was made on 2019 return applying erroneous overpayment to 2020 est. taxes. Amnd. ret. does not have this. Do I need to pay IRS overpayment that was applied?

[JohnB5677]

If you posted that you wanted a portion or all of your refund to be applied to your 2020 taxes, there is no way to recover that until next year when you do your taxes.  The only other alternative is to reduce the amount you're having withheld from your paycheck.  Your employer would have yo complete a FORM W-4.

[Benj2]

Thank you!  I would have given more detail, but was limited by number of characters.  Here's more to the story: I had a true overpayment last year that I applied to this year's est. taxes, but when I filed this year I mistakenly counted this twice (carryover and estimated taxes).  This resulted in another overpayment which I applied to next years est. taxes, but because of my error there was no actual overpayment.  When I efiled I applied this "overpayment" to next year's est. taxes, but in reality it did not exist.  In my amended TT return it looks like I need to pay the IRS back for the "overpayment" I mistakenly applied to next year.  But, as I was preparing to do this, I received a notice from the IRS alerting me to my error and letting me know that they fixed my 1040 and now I owe ~$300.  This is what I would have owed without my mistake, but not what my amended TT return indicates I should pay the IRS ($300 plus the "overpayment" applied to next year's taxes).  I tried to contact the IRS to see what I should do, but due to covid-19 live phone help is not available at this time.  So, I'm not sure if the IRS eliminated the "overpayment" applied to next year's est. taxes, or if this still applied per the original return and I owe the IRS this amount.  I'm so frustrated at myself for making such a stupid error, and I just want to get it fixed - thank you!

[BillM223]

Were you trying to amend your 2019 return to change the application of the non-existent refund to 2020? No other reason?

If so, then I would:

1. Pay the $300 that the IRS letter is asking for. This will probably clear your 2019 problem.

2. If you really don't want to amend your return, did you actually make any changes? If not, then you're done. And also turn off the Amend flag so that TurboTax won't get confused next year:

CD/download:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/amending/help/how-do-i-cancel-or-undo-an-amended-return-in-the-tur...

Online:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/amending/help/how-do-i-cancel-or-undo-an-amended-return-in-turbota...

3. Next year, remember to check the Estimates Taxes Paid link to see if that mistaken 2019 carryover to 2020 is still there. If so, zero it out.

[Benj2]

Correct, the only reason I amended my return was to correct the "overpayment" error, nothing else was changed.  I did complete the amended return on turbotax with the correction of removing the erroneous estimated tax, but have not sent it yet.  Sounds like I should not send it, pay the IRS the $300, and turn off the amend flag?  Since I did complete the amended return will this affect next year's TT return?  Thank you so much for your help!!

[ThomasM125]

You can cancel the amended return in TurboTax, you should see an option for that in the area where you work on the amendment.

I'm not sure what will get carried over to next year's return. You just need to be mindful of the tax payments though. You can adjust them when you are working on next year's return if necessary.

[Benj2]

Thank you!  I think I am all set with the federal return.  But, I realized that my error also affected my state return.  I did not receive an official notice from my state, but in my online state DOR account there was a balance due which was accurate had I calculated my return correctly.  I paid this, so would it be reasonable to hold on submitting an amended return for my state as well?