2019 Turbo Tax incorrectly combining all employers under one spouse on joint return

[Gailmari]

I just received a letter from the IRS stating that I owe from an incorrect amount of social security tax withholding. I submitted 2- w2s that year, but together they did not go over the max $8239.80. My husband's w2 was correct at the max amount.

I just took a closer look at my returns page by page online and turbotax has all of our w2s under my ss#, as if I worked all 3 jobs, which placed the overage of taxes paid as a credit against tax due.

I have used this program for years now and both of our employers are listed separately under our names, always have been. I even looked back to the year prior and at last year's return and they are as they should be. All I can assume is that this was a glitch in the program which incorrectly calculated tax owed... and definitely not in my favor! What recourse do I have with turbotax being held somewhat liable for this very expensive error?

[xmasbaby0]

You can contact customer support about this---but do not get your hopes up.   This was a user error.   You should have checked your return more carefully before filing.    The user is the one who enters the W-2 data, and you have to be VERY careful on a joint return to assign the W-2 to the correct spouse to avoid exactly this problem.  The screens to enter W-2's have the spouse's names on them and it is up to you to enter the W-2 under the correct spouse.

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.

You should always save your own W-2’s for your records—now you need to look at them to check.  Look at your W-2 Box 4  What does it say?  Is it more than the maximum for the tax year?

2016  Maximum $7347      2017 Maximum $7886  2018 $7960.80

2019 $8239.80   2020  $8537.40

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. 

And if you did in fact make the mistake of entering all of the income for your W-2’s under only one spouse’s name, you may have made that same mistake on the next year’s tax return if you transferred all your data over from the past year to the next.  Check to see—before you get another IRS letter.

On your 2020 return if you had excess Social Security i flows from Schedule 3 to line 31 of your Form 1040

To call TurboTax customer support

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899263-what-is-the-turbotax-phone-number

Customer support is available from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time Monday-Friday.

[Critter-3]

Sadly this is 100% user error of which the program did warn you to take another look and make any corrections before filing ... the program is not responsible for use entry errors (including what is imported) or if the user did not heed the warning.   This is what the 2019 warning looked like :

[Gailmari]

I know for a fact that there was no warning as I would have recognized that there was an issue and fixed it prior to filing.

As I stated, the program automatically defaults to our w2s listed under each of our names so at no time did I re-enter my spouse's w2 under my name as I would have had to actually add it in.

I have been using this program for years and my husband has had the same employer so all I had to do was add the income into their respective places. As his income is almost twice what I earn, I think I would have noticed a very large error showing my income as the total of all 3 of ours with him showing zero.

Thank you for your reply.

[Critter-3]

Sorry but it was there ... download the 2019 amendment program and the .taxfile  (if you used the online program that year)  and review the W-2 entry section ... look for the screen I posted.  

IF it was missing  as you say it was  then put in for an accuracy guarantee claim  for any penalties/interest reported on the IRS notice ... sorry the repayment of the credit is not covered.

Accuracy Guarantee https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/how-do-i-submit-a-claim-under-the-turbotax-1...

[VolvoGirl]

You should always check your return over closely before  you file.  And  compare it to the previous year line by line and you would have spotted the big credit on it.  You should not file without understanding every line.  

Then better double check your 2020 return and see if they transferred over wrong.  Check 1040 schedule 3 line 10 for it. Which goes to 1040 line 31. 

For 2021 you should delete the W2s and enter them as new.  Check 2021 schedule 3 line 11 which will go to 1040 line 31.

[fanfare]

File the form for Accuracy Guarantee reimbursement.

You have to show Intuit that the error is due to their software.

You have to file promptly.

As mentioned above, they will probably deny your claim.

[Gailmari]

There is no need to delete and re-enter the w2s as new under our respective names as they have always, and continue to be listed under each of our names without having to add them in when starting a new return. All I am prompted to do is enter the new amounts, not the employer info.

I did check the year prior and the year after and there was no discrepancy noted. As the w2 info carries over from the the prior year onto last year's 2020 return, I would have picked up on it and fixed it and perhaps noticed my error sooner than the IRS contacting me.

I do not disagree that I owe the money, I'm just frustrated as I meticulously enter my info onto those forms and would have picked up on that immediately if I had mistakenly entered all the info under my name and nothing under my spouse. It's a pretty noticeable error as he earns almost twice what I earn.

Thanks for your reply.