Jcw315
Returning Member

Unemployment tax refund

I used my income from 2019 for my 2020 return does that mean I'm not entitled to the refund from taxes I paid on my unemployment from this past year?

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No.  That 2019 income is only to see if you qualify for a higher Earned Income Credit.   It won't affect the 10,200 unemployment exclusion.

 

Your unemployment compensation will be on Schedule 1 line 7.  The exclusion will be on Schedule 1 Line 8 as a negative number. The result flows to Form 1040 Line 8.

 

Or did you file early before the exclusion?

Jcw315
Returning Member

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I filed early. It had the option on turbo tax to use the previous years income or use my unemployment 1099.. I used my previous year for my income

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That was only for the EIC credit.

 

The lookback rule is part of the Coronavirus tax relief package.

 

The special lookback rule will allow lower income individuals to use their earned income from 2019 to determine their Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit in 2020, since their lower 2020 income could reduce the amount they are eligible for.

 

You may use your 2019 income for the Child Tax Credit if your 2019 earned income was more than your 2020 earned income.  If your 2020  income was more than your 2019 income then you cannot use the 2019 income.

 

You can look back and use your 2019 income for the EIC credit instead of 2020. How to use the Lookback provision

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/earned-income-credit/help/how-do-i-use-the-lookback-provision-to-m...

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Yes you will get the unemployment refund if you received more than 10,200 unemployment and paid tax on it.

If you filed early before the exclusion, the IRS will recalculate your return for the new 10,200 unemployment exemption for you. There is no need for taxpayers to file an amended return unless the calculations make the taxpayer newly eligible for additional federal credits and deductions not already included on the original tax return.

Jcw315
Returning Member

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Ok excellent... Therefore I should still be entitled to the unemployment tax refund then?