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posted Jun 4, 2019 9:12:26 PM

Social security refund

I overpaid social security and I am supposed to get that money back. I cannot tell from this software if that has been included in my federal refund or I need to submit a separate document to officially get the refund.

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1 Best answer
Level 7
Jun 4, 2019 9:12:27 PM

There are two types of social security overpayments.

1.  If your social security overpayment is because of multiple employers, then when you enter your W2s, the program will warn of the overpayment and will add into your federal tax return automatically.  It will show as Line 71 as a payment and be calculated into Line 75 (your refund) or Line 78 (amount you owe).  Again, this calculation would be done automatically after you entered your W2, so the amount of the overpayment should already be reflected in your amount due (or refund) just like regular W2 withholding.

If you haven't filed yet, then you can use the steps below to Preview your 1040 and view Line 71.  Or, view your printed copy of your Form 1040.

  • Log into your account
  • Click Take Me to My Return
  • Select My Account (top right of blue banner)
  • Select Tools
  • Select View My Tax Summary
  • Here you will see a Tax Summary of your return so far
  • In the grey banner, click Preview my 1040

However, make sure you are truly entitled to this overpayment.  A lot of mistakes happen with this topic and they often result in IRS letters.  If you are married filing joint, make sure that you have assigned your W2s to each spouse correctly.  The mistake that happens is users enter both W2s under the same name, instead of each spouse.  This results in the program calculating an overpayment when none is truly due.

2.  If your overpayment is from a single employer, then it will not be automatically added to your return.  You will have to contact your employer to receive a refund and get a corrected W2.  If your employer won't cooperate, then you will have to fill out Form 843 to received a refund of the taxes and you will need to make an adjustment to your W2 to reflect what the correct number should have been.  In this situation, TurboTax will warn you that your W2 is incorrect and will not allow you to proceed with the incorrect number - you either have to manually calculate the correct number or get a new W2 to proceed.

You can view more information about social security overpayments at the link below (including more information about if your overpayment is caused by a single employer and how to correct that) -

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899484-can-i-get-a-refund-for-excess-social-security-tax-withheld  

1 Replies
Level 7
Jun 4, 2019 9:12:27 PM

There are two types of social security overpayments.

1.  If your social security overpayment is because of multiple employers, then when you enter your W2s, the program will warn of the overpayment and will add into your federal tax return automatically.  It will show as Line 71 as a payment and be calculated into Line 75 (your refund) or Line 78 (amount you owe).  Again, this calculation would be done automatically after you entered your W2, so the amount of the overpayment should already be reflected in your amount due (or refund) just like regular W2 withholding.

If you haven't filed yet, then you can use the steps below to Preview your 1040 and view Line 71.  Or, view your printed copy of your Form 1040.

  • Log into your account
  • Click Take Me to My Return
  • Select My Account (top right of blue banner)
  • Select Tools
  • Select View My Tax Summary
  • Here you will see a Tax Summary of your return so far
  • In the grey banner, click Preview my 1040

However, make sure you are truly entitled to this overpayment.  A lot of mistakes happen with this topic and they often result in IRS letters.  If you are married filing joint, make sure that you have assigned your W2s to each spouse correctly.  The mistake that happens is users enter both W2s under the same name, instead of each spouse.  This results in the program calculating an overpayment when none is truly due.

2.  If your overpayment is from a single employer, then it will not be automatically added to your return.  You will have to contact your employer to receive a refund and get a corrected W2.  If your employer won't cooperate, then you will have to fill out Form 843 to received a refund of the taxes and you will need to make an adjustment to your W2 to reflect what the correct number should have been.  In this situation, TurboTax will warn you that your W2 is incorrect and will not allow you to proceed with the incorrect number - you either have to manually calculate the correct number or get a new W2 to proceed.

You can view more information about social security overpayments at the link below (including more information about if your overpayment is caused by a single employer and how to correct that) -

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899484-can-i-get-a-refund-for-excess-social-security-tax-withheld