Excellent remarks and great link - thank you! Of course, every IRS publication leaves me wtih additional questions (sorry). From that link:
- You're eligible to exclude the unemployment compensation if it was received in 2020 and your modified adjusted gross income (AGI) is less than $150,000. The modified AGI for purposes of qualifying for this exclusion is your adjusted gross income for 2020 minus the total unemployment compensation you received. (emphasis mine)... To determine if you're under the $150,000 threshold and qualify for the exclusion, subtract all of the unemployment compensation reported on Schedule 1, Line 7, from the amount of your AGI reported on Line 11 of Form 1040..."
It then goes on to say the following:
- "If you're married, the exclusion can apply to you and a separate exclusion can apply to your spouse. If you and your spouse file a joint return and your joint modified AGI is less than $150,000, you should exclude up to $10,200 of your unemployment compensation and up to $10,200 of your spouse's unemployment compensation."
We are Married Filing Jointly. I drew zero UI in 2020 and wife took appx $27k. So, are the following assumptions correct?
- Per first quote above, the IRS will deduct the ENTIRE amount of her UI comp to determine AGI. If so, that would bring us below the $150k threshold, including the $10,200 UI deduction qualification.
- Per the second quote, we can't write off all of her UI comp for taxation purposes, but we can receive the $10.2k deduction on her UI benefits. (assuming my first statement is correct, of course!)
Do I have this right? And, yes, I hear you about waiting for the IRS to finalize calculations prior to any amendment - thanks for your advice here, and I will do so.
