I would like to file from abroad. I withdrew my pension and need to report the coronavirus check. How can I receive help with Turbo Tax with no US phone number?

[ssolyom1]

I lived in the US in 2019 as a resident alien, but not in in 2020. The help packages require US phone numbers and I don't have it any longer. Can I receive help via e-mail, Zoom or messenger?

[LinaJ2020]

If you are overseas and do not have a US phone number, I would suggest you to leave any questions here on the Community where we can communicate and answer to all your tax questions. 

To see other possible ways to contact TurboTax, click here:  What is the TurboTax phone number?

Please also note that both the first and second stimulus payments are not taxable hence you do not need to report on your tax return.  

[ssolyom1]

Thank you very much for your response, LinaJ2020.

I'm already stuck on the first page of TurboTax online, so there will be tons of questions f I do everything on my own. It claims the site is not to be used by non-resident aliens. I was on a H1-B visa and can't remember which alien status it was, so I sent an e-mail to my employer back in 2019. (I lived in the US twice, and I was first non-resident, then resident alien on J-1, but now I Just can't find this information with the H-1 visa.) Importantly, at the moment of filing, I am none of these, as I don't live in the US any longer, so can I use Turbo Tax at all?

If I can, is it feasible to ask a US friend of mine to be called by your help team while I have a Zoom call with him and do all the steps according to your instructions simultaneously?

I have another question: I received the second stimulus check and it was deposited on my account on 1/1/2021. I thought I needed to report it in 2022. A CPA wrote me that "it gets reported in the sense you tell irs that you received it", however you suggested it doesn't need to be done, or at least not here on Turbo Tax. Is it positive I don't need to report the two stimulus checks anywhere?

Thanks again.

[DaveF1006]

It depends on if you were a resident alien at the time you were H-1 visa holder. If you meet the Substantial Presence Test , you can file as a resident.

To meet this test, you must be physically present in the United States (U.S.) on at least:

1. 31 days during the 2020 year, and
2. 183 days during the 3-year period that includes the current year and the 2 years immediately before that, counting:
   • All the days you were present in the current year, and
   • 1/3 of the days you were present in the first year before the current year, and
   • 1/6 of the days you were present in the second year before the current year

If you did not meet these requirements, you will need to file a Non-Resident return. You will not be able to file this using Turbo Tax Online. To file this non-resident return, you will need to file with one of our affiliates, which is sprintax.com. 

As far as reporting both stimulus payments, if you received the full stimulus payment, you do not need to report the payments. If you did not receive the full amount, then you report your partial amounts so you can receive credit on the unpaid portions of your payment. For more information on this, please refer to this IRS link.

Unfortunately we will not be able to call your friend.

[ssolyom1]

Thank you, Dave - I appreciate your response.

My employer in 2019 wrote me that I didn’t have an alien registration number with H-1 as those are associated with permanent resident/green cards.

I don't meet the requirements of the Substantial Presence Test.

However, I started with Turbo Tax and it let me proceed if I pay $30 in the end. I am basically just stuck at a page according to which I need to wait for a 1099 form on 1st February. Looks like I need to abandon it and switch to sprintax?

[LinaJ2020]

If you did not stay in the US for at least 183 days between 2018 and 2020, you are not a US resident for tax purposes.  You cannot use TurboTax and will be suggested to use Sprintax.  TurboTax is designed for both US citizens and residents for tax purposes to use.  When you start using it, it assumes you are one of them.  It does not provide the check lists to determine if you meet the criteria to file as a US citizen or resident.  As much as we want you to be one of our customers, if you file as a resident when you are not, you might need to amend your tax return later and end up owing more taxes including penalties.

Hope it helps.

@ssolyom1

[ssolyom1]

Thank you, Lina, I'll remove my account then.

[ssolyom1]

I can't find any way to remove my account and have all the sensitive data deleted. Why is it so difficult to find it? Where can I request this? I don't want to just abandon it as some people suggested in help forums, but have everything deleted.

[DoninGA]

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@ssolyom1 wrote:

I can't find any way to remove my account and have all the sensitive data deleted. Why is it so difficult to find it? Where can I request this? I don't want to just abandon it as some people suggested in help forums, but have everything deleted.

---

TurboTax online accounts cannot be deleted.

Current tax year accounts can be cleared - If you have not paid for the online edition you are using, have not filed your tax return or registered the Free edition, then you can clear your return. Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the program screen while working on the 2020 online tax return. Click on Clear & Start Over.

[ssolyom1]

I have no Tax Tools on the left. There is Tax Home instead and no way to clear it. It would be aberrant and sick if I couldn't delete an account. That would be solely for spying purposes. I guess it must have been is small letters, otherwise no one would consent.

[DoninGA]

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@ssolyom1 wrote:

I have no Tax Tools on the left. There is Tax Home instead and no way to clear it. It would be aberrant and sick if I couldn't delete an account. That would be solely for spying purposes. I guess it must have been is small letters, otherwise no one would consent.

---

For the links in the left hand column of the program you must access the 2020 online tax return on your account, not the page when you first sign on.

[ssolyom1]

Found it, thanks a lot, Donin! I still want my account to be deleted as I don't trust my data is really gone this way. I hope a TurboTax professional will do this asap to my request here.

[DoninGA]

To the best of my knowledge as volunteer on this and other TurboTax user forums for over ten years, online accounts will not be deleted by TurboTax.

However, they can be deactivated.  To deactivate an account you will have to contact TurboTax support.

Use this website to contact TurboTax support during business hours - https://support.turbotax.intuit.com/contact/

Or -

Support can also be reached by messaging them on these pages https://www.facebook.com/turbotax/ and https://twitter.com/TeamTurboTax

Once you get a case number from TurboTax support, see this TurboTax support FAQ for Account Deactivation: Verify Your Identity - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/account-updates/help/account-deactivation-verify-your-identity/01/...

[DoninGA]

Typo - meant to write deactivated 

[ssolyom1]

I don't like this. It wants me to call from abroad. As I don't reside anymore in the US and have no US phone number, this would be an expensive call and lot of effort on my part to do this single thing. What a shame! I will make a complaint if they don't delete my account to this request right here.