EXCESS SOCIAL SECURITY
Look at line 71 of your 2017 tax return. If there is an amount there, then you claimed to have paid excess Social Security. That could happen when you enter all of the W-2 income under only one name on a joint return. The IRS refunds the “excess” Social Security. Now they have matched your W-2’s to the return and they want that money back. Does line 71 show more than $7886? If you did not have more than $7886 withheld on ONE of the spouse's W-2's then that is why you have a problem. Look at your actual W-2 in box 4. What is in box 4?
Check the worksheets from your tax return to see if you entered all of the W-2 income for both spouses under only one of the names on a joint return. That is the most common reason for this problem. Unfortunately, it is user error. As you prepare your return, several screens alert you to it.
You should also check to see if you made this same mistake for your 2018 return. For 2018 is there more than $7960.80 shown on line 72 of your schedule 5? Did you assign the W-2's to each spouse or put it all under only one of your names? You will not see this on the Form 1040--you have to look at your own W-2's and your worksheets. On your 2018 Form 1040, various amounts from schedule 5 will appear on line 17. The amount withheld for SS will be shown on the actual W-2 in box 4. If you made this same mistake for 2018 you need to amend before you get a letter from the IRS about that one, too.
TurboTax does not receive any information from the IRS or your state after your return was filed, so no one at TurboTax knows about a letter you received from the IRS or the state.
(what the letters from the IRS mean)
I GOT A LETTER FROM THE IRS
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3605673-i-got-a-letter-or-notice-from-the-irs
I AM BEING AUDITED
If you purchased Audit Defense:
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2924451-i-bought-max-or-audit-defense-and-now-i-m-being-audited
AUDIT SUPPORT
TurboTax has a special phone number for help with IRS/state tax letters, which will be easier than going through regular Customer Support. At the page below, click on the blue button that says "Get Help from TurboTax Support". Then it will ask you what tax year is your letter. Then it will ask you what the letter concerns. Then it will show you the phone number during posted business hours.
https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/irs-notice/audit-support/
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
