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Level 1

Solved

Form 8936 (2019) has an error

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
February 12, 2020
6 replies
0 views

Line 4a has the correct 7,500 credit; line 4b has the correct phase-out percentage (24% for Tesla purchased in September) but line 4c should be 7,500 X 25% = 1,875 but instead it says 7,500. This results in an incorrect credit calculation and excessive refund!

Best answer by DoninGA

@Keegan87

See this TurboTax support FAQ for the form 8936 error - https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-topics/help/form-8936-qualified-plug-in-electric-drive-motor-vehicle-credit-is-not-calculating-correctly/01/1147839#M4113

CatinaT1

Level 15

This form is not final yet.

It should be available 24 hours after the IRS approves TurboTax to use the form. Currently, the IRS has not finalized the form. Here is the IRS web page to check the status of form 8936: Available Forms and Limitations. Scroll down to Form 8936.

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shareef777

Level 4

It IS available, and as the original poster stated, the application is not processing the calculation correctly. I suggest TurboTax fix this ASAP otherwise they'll be on the hook for a lot of improperly submitted tax returns.

CatinaT1

Level 15

The IRS has NOT finalized this form yet. Please click the link below.

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Keegan87

Level 2

I am having the same issue. It's not doing the math. This is on the online version, with a Chevrolet Volt.

gaskinsjordan

Level 2

thats my exact issue! but i bought a Tesla Performance 3

bef-

Level 2

I am a victim of the Form 8936 error when I filed on 2/14/2020. After I filled in the information for the EV credit I noticed that TurboTax calculated the wrong EV credit value so I put $1,875 for the credit (per IRS) to claim and after filing I received a rejection email. The TurboTax email didn't clearly explain the problem but said to refile on 2/20/2020. I logged back into TurboTax to see if there were any obvious errors in the EV credit data but didn't see any. I looked at Line 4c of Form 8936 and it correctly listed $1,875 so I figured I would wait for TurboTax to fix their software as the email didn't specify what the error was and I didn't know what to look for.

On 2/20/2020 I logged back in and TurboTax said everything was fixed and I should just continue to refile. However, I noticed that the refund amount was lower than expected so I revisited the EV credit section and noticed that TurboTax said I would get an EV credit of $469, not the expected $1,875. I changed the EV credit from $1,875 to $7,500 and then TurboTax correctly said I would get an EV credit of $1,875. I tried other values and TurboTax just blindly divided it by 4.

Upon further analysis of my 2/14/2020 Form 8936 I noticed that Line 4a showed $1,875 (this should have been $7,500), Line 4b correctly showed 25.00%, and Line 4c correctly showed $1,875. The 2/20/2020 TurboTax software fixes the math on the form but not the section where you input the data.

After changing the EV credit to $7,500 in TurboTax, Form 8936 now shows $7,500 on Line 4a so hopefully my resubmitted return will be accepted.

Lesson Learned: Don't assume software fixes are properly implemented. Had I believed that TurboTax was fixed I would have received a $469 EV credit instead of $1,875.

TurboTax Design/Software Problem Report: The EV credits are listed on the IRS website that you provide a link to your users. The software should use this information rather than relying on user inputs that can potentially be incorrect. The user should enter the date of purchase and the VIN which the software can decode into make and model which can be confirmed by the user or rejected and then allowed to manually enter in Vehicle and EV credit information (including phase out information). For vehicles listed on the IRS website, the software can determine the correct EV credit and the users won't have to waste their time looking up gross vehicle weights or looking up the EV credit they think their vehicle qualifies for. Since users are not expected to look up taxes in the IRS tables to input it into TurboTax, users should not need to look up EV credits on the IRS website to enter it into TurboTax. TurboTax should allow exceptions but should not penalize all users to input information readily available from the IRS.

Update 2/21/2020 (updated):

The IRS has accepted the updated form that I filed on 2/20/2020.

Since others on this forum have also encountered this problem, I would suggest Intuit audit all of the Form 8936 victims to see if they are getting the correct EV credit amounts and contact them if they aren't getting the correct EV credit. Some people may not have noticed that the "fixed" Form 8936 contained the wrong EV credit amounts and TurboTax may not have flagged it as an error so some people may not receive the correct EV credit.

LeonardS

Level 14

TurboTax has released an update to Form 8936. Follow these steps to insure that TurboTax is using the updated Form 8936.

Clear your browser's cookies and cache
Delete Form 8936
Enter your vehicle information on Form 8936

This link Filing Tax Form 8936: Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit has information you may find helpful.

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Darceyrose

Level 2

I didn't even start my taxes online until March but I'm getting the "invalid pin" message and it's calculating my credit incorrectly, the same as others have reported. My pin is absolutely correct and I've cleared the cache (though it shouldn't matter because I didn't create the form until it was theoretically fixed). Is this fixed or not?

brenor7

Level 2

This form was updated, but it still has an error. Now it under calculates the rebate. I bought a Tesla on July 26, 2019. Rebate is supposed to be $7500 x 0.25 for a total of $1,875, but it instead it reads $1875 x 0.25 for a total of $469. Please fix this!

weirdbaldguy

Level 3

It is 21 February 2020 and the IRS For 8936 has still not been fixed in TurboTax. Online help is useless. Telephone support tells me that the form was available two days ago. Oh, wait. The form was available yesterday. Oh, wait. Yeah, you can sign up for an e-mail update that never comes. I have been on hold waiting for a supervisor for 50 minutes.

The IRS released this form on 14 February 2020.

SnyderFD

Level 2

My version has the wrong value for line 4a This should be $7,500 for Tesla 3

With 4a being $7,500 then with purchase after 12/31/2018 and before 6/30/2019 line 4b would be 50%

My original form shows 4a as $3,750 and 4b as 50% yielding a net $1,875

Since I could not change the incorrect 4a to $7,500 I changed 4b to 100% to yield the proper net of $3,750

I expect this will cause a problem with the IRS

Please correct line 4a to the proper $7,500

VictoriaD75

Level 12

Be sure that you do not change the maximum credit amount shown on the screen, otherwise the calculation will not be correct.

Here is the explanation:

TurboTax will calculate your maximum credit based on the details entered for your vehicle and any applicable phase-out based on the purchase date.

On the screen where it shows the amount of credit you qualify to receive, the box at the bottom of the page is showing the maximum credit that would have been allowed for your vehicle had a phase-out not applied. Your credit may be limited by the phase-out. If you change the number on that screen, your credit will not be calculated correctly.

The information on the screen says this field is for adjusting the amount of maximum credit it is does not match the manufacturer's specification. The number entered here will be the maximum credit that you may receive prior to any limitation being applied. If you change it, your credit will be based on the number entered.