Anyone else get screwed over by turbotax messing up line 30?

[VolvoGirl]

What is checked on line 9?  You might need to skip lines 10 and 11 and go directly to line 12.

See IRS worksheet for line 30 in 1040 instructions page 59.  Fill it out yourself and see what you get.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

[VolvoGirl]

Then what is on the worksheet on line 13?  That is the amount that's messing up people.  Line 13 comes from your entry.

A lot of people forgot they got the deposit last March - May.  Or missed one payment and entered the wrong amount.  Then when the IRS reduces their refund and they check their bank accounts they have been finding the payments.

Double check your bank statements and Check your IRS account (both accounts if married)

Your Online Account | Internal Revenue Service

[R WELLS]

Thanks!

[Kamcginty]

I requested a refund of my fee, and my Credit card company said it was non refundable. I said they did not perform their end of the contract, they did "not give me confidence, or compute my taxes correctly" So they reversed the charges. I am now being audited by the State

[Kamcginty]

well, when you use Turbo Tax, the questions they ask are not attached to a specific line, so that is a ridiculous statement. Had I used a form and a pencil, this would NOT have happened. I will use the free government software next year!

[Kamcginty]

agreed!

[Kamcginty]

Intuit hides the free versions of their software. In several other countries, filing your taxes is a lot easier. The government uses data it already has on your income to fill out your taxes. But in the United States, Intuit has spent millions each year lobbying against these simpler systems which would eliminate the need for their services. Tax industry lobbying was how the IRS’s Free File was initially created, with the IRS agreeing to leave it up to those companies.

[hennieh1]

Yes .  My refund reduced by amt on line 30. 

[hennieh1]

So the stimulus check was only an advance payment on my future tax return?  It was misrepresented.  Grrrrr

[VolvoGirl]

No.  It doesn't affect your tax return.  It doesn't go on your tax return.  Line 30 is only if you didn't get the full amount or qualify for more. 

It is not taxable and you aren't paying it back.  Your 2021 return starts out by assuming you didn't get any Stimulus payments so it gives you credit for the full amount and your refund was too high.  Then near the end you enter how much you actually got so it only gives you the difference if any.  So you don't get it again.

Look at your tax return.   It is not added as income anywhere or subtracted anywhere.  Income is only on 1040 lines 1-11.  The Recovery rebate credit on line 30 is only if you didn't get the Stimulus payment or qualify for more.

[NCperson]

so here is how Line 30 works (simplified)

you were to receive $1400 per person for the 3rd stimulus.

if you received that last spring, then GREAT; Line 30 is zero; you are not entitled to anything else

if you did NOT receive that last spring, then Line 30 is $1400 per person on your tax return. 

you are entitled to either the stimulus or the credit on Line 30 - but not both

does that make sense? 

[Kamcginty]

It makes perfect sense, the problem is the question was asked incorrectly!! Turbo tax does not show what line they are filling out , they ask a question and you give them the answer! We all know the problem!! It was the software !

[NCperson]

@Kamcginty = the whole TT approach if for those that "don't have a clue" on what lines certain income (and tax credits) belong on..... from the questions TT asked, it knows where to place the information, so line item numbers for taxpayers using their software is irrelevant. 

all the other tax software packages (TaxAct, Taxslayer, etc.) do the same thing.

[Kamcginty]

You are missing my point.

Thousands of people are experiencing the same problem. Because the software directs where the information ends up! So if I received the check and the software asks me how much I received, asks  the data is sent to that “line # . If the answer was to be zero when asked that question, the code would tell it to enter 0. But the code did not do that, the code told it to enter the amount received , in my case, $1400. Therefore, my line 30 says $1400 NOT 0. And this is where the problem is. 

[NCperson]

@Kamcginty - I think you misunderstand how the software and the Recovery Credit works:

TT looks at the number of people on your tax return and multiples by $1400 as the Recovery Credit. (I am keeping this simple and not worrying about those with higher incomes where the thresshold comes into play)

Then you enter what you actually received.

The DIFFERENCE, but not less than zero ends up on Line 30

But here is what I think the root cause is in many cases:

If you filed "joint", the IRS sent EACH spouse  Letter 6475 confirming how much you received for the 3rd stimulus payment.   When asked how much you received you were to enter the SUM of both letters.  I suspect many didn't not realize the letters were not duplicates, but were to be added together and / or the spouse who completed the tax return didn't realize the other spouse also received a letter.

So if you filed "joint", TT multipled $1400 X 2 and calcuated $2800 of Recovery Credit

if you only entered that you received $1400, then TT put the DIFFERENCE or $1400 on Line 30. 

Is that your scenario?

when the IRS reviews your tax return, it knows how much it sent you and compares that to what you stated you received. If they are not the same, the IRS adjusts your tax return (which reduces the refund) to match its records. 

make sense?