Why isn't the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet showing up?

[mjsurel]

I qualified to receive a partial amount of the first and second stimulus payments based on my 2019 income, but did not receive them. I'm in the process of filing my 2020 return via TurboTax Premiere and would like to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. I just went through the Federal Review section and was not presented with any prompts regarding the stimulus payments. How do I get to the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet?

I suspect the problem may be that I no longer qualify for stimulus payments based on my 2020 income, but I spoke with the IRS on the phone this morning, and they verified that I should be able to claim the tax credit for the first and second stimulus payments based on my 2019 income. The only problem is I can't seem to get to the Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet in TurboTax.

[DoninGA]

Don't know who you spoke with at the IRS but they gave you incorrect information.

The Recovery Rebate Credit is based on your 2020 AGI, not 2019.

The IRS Recovery Rebate Credit Worksheet specifically uses the 2020 AGI from the 2020 Form 1040 Line 11.

Go to this IRS Form 1040 (2020) Instructions on page 59 for the Recovery Rebate Credit worksheet line 11 on the worksheet - https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf#page=59

[mjsurel]

I've spoken to multiple people over the course of 2-3 hours and being transferred several times. Most of them around sure, but a couple of them told me I should be able to claim it based on my 2019 income. 

I will be very upset if what you're saying is true. I tried calling the IRS a few times last year over the course of 2-3 months after not receiving the first stimulus payment. I would sit on hold for an hour or more and could never seem to get an actual person on the line. When I saw that the IRS was issuing statements that if anybody didn't get the payment they shouldn't worry since they could just claim it as a tax credit for 2020, I finally gave up calling and resigned to waiting 8+ months. If I don't qualify now because of my 2020 income, that doesn't seem fair at all.

[mjsurel]

Can I not just put my 2019 income on that line? The people I've spoken with on the Economic Impact Payments line seem to believe that I should be able to claim the amount I was supposed to get last year on line 30.

[DoninGA]

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@mjsurel wrote:

Can I not just put my 2019 income on that line? The people I've spoken with on the Economic Impact Payments line seem to believe that I should be able to claim the amount I was supposed to get last year on line 30.

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The Recovery Rebate Credit on the 2020 federal tax return is based on your 2020 AGI.

The stimulus questions are asked in the Federal Review section of the TurboTax program.  Any payment you were eligible to receive based on the 2020 Federal tax return but did not receive will be entered on the Federal tax return, Form 1040 Line 30 as a tax credit.  The credit is included in the federal tax refund or it will reduce the amount of federal taxes owed.

[mjsurel]

Then why do they keep telling me I should be able to credit the amount I was supposed to receive last year? I was supposed to get over $500 last year. The IRS told everybody if we simply waited, we could credit that on our 2020 taxes.

[DoninGA]

IRS website for the Recovery Rebate Credit - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/recovery-rebate-credit

Most individuals eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit have already received the full amount in two rounds of payments, known as Economic Impact Payments.

If we issued you the full amount of each Economic Impact Payment, you won’t need to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit or include any information related to it when you file your 2020 tax return because we already issued your Recovery Rebate Credit as Economic Impact Payments.

If you’re eligible for the credit, and either we didn’t issue you any Economic Impact Payments or we issued less than the full amounts, you must file a 2020 tax return to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit even if you are not required to file a tax return for 2020.

Economic Impact Payments were based on your 2018 or 2019 tax year information. The Recovery Rebate Credit is similar except that the eligibility and the amount are based on 2020 information you include on your 2020 tax return.

You will need to know the amount of any Economic Impact Payments issued to you to claim the Recovery Rebate Credit. If you’re eligible for the Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 tax return, it will be reduced by any Economic Impact Payments we issued to you. Always be complete and accurate when you file a return.