Stimulus Impact on 2020 Taxes

[chuckalberti]

I am using TurboTax  2020 Deluxe Desktop.

In the stimulus section, the amounts listed for payments 1 and 2 were not what I received.  

The return meter at that point showed as receiving a refund.

Once I entered the amounts received, I now owe money to the government.

Any clarification as to why would be greatly appreciated.

[DMarkM1]

Initially the amount of your refund included any stimulus amounts you are eligible for but had not received based on the tax return information entered.  Once you entered the stimulus payments you actually received your tax return adjusted so that it only includes missing stimulus amounts, which could be zero if you received all the eligible payments from rounds one and/or two.   

Once the Recovery Rebate Credit was reduced to zero what remains is your actual income tax owed.  

You can use the "Forms View" option at the top right of your page to see the actual form 1040 showing your taxable income (line 15) and the tax on that income (line 24) less whatever withholding you entered from your W2s (line 25). What remains is the tax you owe or if withholding had been more than your tax, a refund.

You can also see line 30 showing any "Recovery Rebate Credit". 

If you wish, in the step-by-step interview you can put the original stimulus amounts back in and then look at the forms to see the difference.   

[chuckalberti]

Thank you for the reply, I greatly appreciate it.  Just to make sure that I am clear on the explanation, since I received more then what Turbo Tax thought I would have received based off of my 2019 taxes, the difference then changed from getting a refund to owing instead. 

[AmyC]

The program was assuming you had not received your full stimulus since that is how the season began. Your 2020 stimulus rebate is based on 2020 income instead of 2019 income.

[readired666]

ok im not sure if my stimulus has been filed because of some bs about owing money how can i fix this please help me ive been through so much bs trying to get my stimulus money i have not even received my 1st or 2nd check so what can you help me do 

[DMarkM1]

You can check line 30 of form 1040 on your copy of your 2020 tax return to see the missing round one/two stimulus amounts added to your tax return. 

Since you have already filed you can sign in to your TurboTax account and select the print/download option to get a copy. 

If you discover the amount on line 30 is incorrect then the IRS will make those corrections for you and notify you of the the changes.  

Here is a link with more information on what to expect if line 30 is not correct.