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Unemployment Tax refund

Hello, any advice would be greatly appreciated.  I filed early, my 2020 return was accepted on 2/19/2021. HOH, 1 dependent, low income, EITC and CTC already in place.  I received Unemployment benefits and thought I would have the refund by now.  I was under the impression I should not need to amend my return. Now that the fourth batch of these refunds has been released, I worry I am confused.  I already ordered two transcripts from the IRS via mail, because I don't have a credit card to view my account online and for some annoying reason the irs.gov website doesn't recognize my student loan number.  

I just want to know how to find out 1.) if I am getting money back, because I am eligible. 2.) do I need to amend? 3.) will the changes appear and be visible to TurboTax customers like myself via the TurboTax website?  Will a new return displaying this update be visible and available for downloading if and after the IRS makes adjustments???

ANY advice appreciated.  Can I tell for myself by viewing my return??? Lines 25b and 25d specifically are confusing me. (on 1040)

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25 Replies
rjs
Level 15
Level 15

Unemployment Tax refund

1) You will get an additional federal income tax refund for the unemployment exclusion if all of the following are true.

 

  • You reported unemployment benefits as income on your 2020 tax return, on Schedule 1 line 7.
  • You did not get the unemployment exclusion on the 2020 tax return that you filed. The unemployment exclusion would appear as a negative amount on Schedule 1 line 8, with the abbreviation UCE on the dotted line to the left of the amount.
  • Your tax on Form 1040 line 16 is not zero.
  • Your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), not including unemployment, is less than $150,000.

 

If all four of those conditions are true, The IRS will recalculate your tax return and send you an additional refund.

 

The IRS is still sending out refunds for the unemployment exclusion. They expect to continue through the summer. Summer ends September 22. Of course, that was just an estimate. It could end up taking longer than they expected. There is no way to tell when you will get your refund.

 

2) DO NOT amend your tax return. The IRS has clearly said that you should not amend unless the exclusion makes you eligible for a new credit that is not already on your tax return.

 

3) TurboTax does not get any information from the IRS about your additional refund for the unemployment exclusion. If you open your tax return in TurboTax you might see that TurboTax has recalculated the return to include the unemployment exclusion. But that has nothing to do with what the IRS is doing. It’s just a calculation that TurboTax makes.

 

Form 1040 lines 25b and 25d have nothing to do with the refund for the unemployment exclusion.

 

For more information see the following IRS announcements and FAQ.


IRS to recalculate taxes on unemployment benefits; refunds to start in May


IRS begins correcting tax returns for unemployment compensation income exclusion


IRS continues unemployment compensation adjustments, prepares another 1.5 million refunds


2020 Unemployment Compensation Exclusion FAQs

 

Unemployment Tax refund

Thank you for responding. I'm sorry for my ignorance on this topic. I'm still confused, so all of the criteria is true except my line 16 is zero. Did I make a mistake? I had income in 2020, then lost my job and began receiving unemployment. I had 10% withholding.  So am I now not getting the refund?

Is there a chance I could get anything back regarding the other credits I had? I really appreciate your time. Thanks for helping those of us who are lost this year. 

I would be so grateful for any more clarification on why that line 16 is keeping me from the exclusion. 

Unemployment Tax refund

We got our refund but we haven't received our tax back on my unemployment. It's been almost a month now since we got refund. Why haven't we received refund on my unemployment?

rjs
Level 15
Level 15

Unemployment Tax refund

@flamingo1953 

The IRS is sending out the refunds for the unemployment exclusion over the course of the summer. Summer ends September 22. Of course, that is just an estimate. It could end up taking longer than they expected. There is no way to tell when you will get your refund for the unemployment exclusion.


For more information, see the IRS links in my first reply in this thread, above.

 

Unemployment Tax refund

Are you sure you are getting one? I was certain I was but did you see the first response to my question? In the response it says if line 16 on schedule 1 is 0. Then you won't get the exclusion, do you know if that's accurate? I'm now doubting whether I'll be getting the refund because my line 16 is 0. I am so confused. Whoever posted that hasn't provided further info. Its crap. 

Good luck. 

Unemployment Tax refund

Hello???? Are you available for more help? I posted a follow up to your original, much appreciated help. Curious, where are you getting this info? Is it listed on the website somewhere where it provides further explanation?

Unemployment Tax refund


@TrRLsR wrote:

Are you sure you are getting one? I was certain I was but did you see the first response to my question? In the response it says if line 16 on schedule 1 is 0. Then you won't get the exclusion, do you know if that's accurate? I'm now doubting whether I'll be getting the refund because my line 16 is 0. I am so confused. Whoever posted that hasn't provided further info. Its crap. 

Good luck. 


I think you meant line 7 schedule 1, line 16 is self-employed health insurance.

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**

Unemployment Tax refund

I think I meant 1040 line 16, AGAIN, its in the first response to my original question. I'm looking for any answers, preferably not just pointing out my ignorance on the forms. 

Unemployment Tax refund


@TrRLsR wrote:

I think I meant 1040 line 16, AGAIN, its in the first response to my original question. I'm looking for any answers, preferably not just pointing out my ignorance on the forms. 


I was responding to your last post where you said "I was certain I was but did you see the first response to my question? In the response it says if line 16 on schedule 1 is 0."

 

BTW the 1040 form line 16 is the tax on the line 15 income.

 

Your unemployment refund is based on the amount on the 1040 Schedule 1 line 7 (unemployment compensation). but the 1040 line 11 (AGI) must be less then $150,000 to qualify.

 

 

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**

Unemployment Tax refund

Thanks for being up late to chat on tt.....but you aren't answering my question. In the original answer to my original post, the person responding mentioned I was ineligible for the exclusion refund if line 16 was 0. 

 

I'm not giving this info as fact, I'm questioning if that is true and wanting to understand why. The info looked like it was being pulled from the turbo tax website. 

So according to you, if I have unemployment compensation I qualify, even if I had federal withholding throughout that compensation?  Maybe for some reason I'm not getting a refund, but I'm trying to find out based on the RESPONSE TO MY QUESTION. There were 4 requirements listed, I'm asking why they mention line 16???!!! Do you know or can you just read what the form reads as the line 16 description? Because I can read that too, I'm looking for actual explanation to that line 16 @0. Deal. 

Unemployment Tax refund

) You will get an additional federal income tax refund for the unemployment exclusion if all of the following are true.

 

  • You reported unemployment benefits as income on your 2020 tax return, on Schedule 1 line 7.
  • You did not get the unemployment exclusion on the 2020 tax return that you filed. The unemployment exclusion would appear as a negative amount on Schedule 1 line 8, with the abbreviation UCE on the dotted line to the left of the amount.
  • Your tax on Form 1040 line 16 is not zero.
  • Your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), not including unemployment, is less than $150,000.

 

If all four of those conditions are true, The IRS will recalculate your tax return and send you an additional refund.

Unemployment Tax refund

Any idea?? 🤔😁

Unemployment Tax refund

As I said, the 1040 line 16 is the tax on the line 15 income.  If line 16 is zero then you owed, and paid no tax, so there is nothing to refund.     You can only get a refund of taxes paid and if you paid nothing then there is nothing to refund.

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**

Unemployment Tax refund

Do you know why I would owe no tax? I'm still confused because federal withholding was deducted with each employment check and I had self employment income that was also taxed. 

 

Additionally, do you know if the exclusion will lower my eic?

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