This can be a big difference for some retirees since there was no Required Minimum Distribution(RMD) for 2020 due to CARES act.
The payments were an advance credit for 2020. 2019 information was only used in sending out the payments since 2020 tax returns had not been filed at the point the stimulus payments were sent out. They are being reconciled when you do your 2020 return. In some cases, people may have been given a stimulus payment based on their 2019 income that did not qualify based on their 2020 income, and vice versa.
TurboTax is computing the stimulus payment according the IRS rules. IRS Recovery Rebate Credit states:
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.
If you have not received your second stimulus check, you will receive your payment in the form of a Recovery Rebate Credit on line 30 of your 2020 Federal tax return when you file.
TurboTax will compare your one or two stimulus payment amounts to the computations within TurboTax. The computations within TurboTax are based upon the information that you have entered into the tax software. If you are due an additional amount, it will be issued as a Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC) on line 30 of the 2020 1040 tax return.
In TurboTax Online, you are prompted to input stimulus check 1 and stimulus check 2 information under Review down the left hand side of the screen.
You can access your stimulus check choices by following these steps:
See also this TurboTax Help.
Turbo Tax e-filed my taxes yesterday and used 2020's AGI to determine Recovery Rebate Credit instead of the 2019 AGI which was higher. Won't this be a flag to IRS, delay my refund as they have to rework the numbers? This is disappointing!!!
The payments were an advance credit for 2020. 2019 information was only used in sending out the payments since 2020 tax returns had not been filed at the point the stimulus payments were sent out. They are being reconciled when you do your 2020 return. In some cases, people may have been given a stimulus payment based on their 2019 income that did not qualify based on their 2020 income, and vice versa.
The answer was just as confusing as what was asked. Am I wasting my time looking for a stimulus check based on my 2019 taxes which I WAS qualified for - for the first 2 stimulus checks? Are you now saying that they are going to look at my 2020 taxes anyway once they get them, and ask me to return the stimulus check I received based on my 2019 taxes?
If you don't qualify now based on your 2020 income you won't get the Stimulus screen or questions. And you don't have to pay back what you already got. Sorry if you do not qualify for the Recovery Rebate Credit because of your 2020 tax situation then you will not be able to get the missed stimulus payment.
If you did not get prompted to enter your stimulus information, that means you either:
1. filed as a dependent being claimed on another tax return, or 2. have an AGI too high to claim the recovery rebate
To get to the stimulus questions in TurboTax at any time, you can search for stimulus and use the Jump to link. Generally, if you have adjusted gross income up to $75,000 for individuals and up to $150,000 for married couples filing joint returns and surviving spouses, you will receive the full amount of the recovery rebate. For filers with income above those amounts, the payment amount is reduced.
After you have entered your tax information and are ready for the Federal Review, it will be the first question.
If you are trying to trigger it, you can go to Other Situations, answer any questions and click Done. The next automatic selection is Federal Review and it will ask about payments received.
@charandy wrote:
The answer was just as confusing as what was asked. Am I wasting my time looking for a stimulus check based on my 2019 taxes which I WAS qualified for - for the first 2 stimulus checks? Are you now saying that they are going to look at my 2020 taxes anyway once they get them, and ask me to return the stimulus check I received based on my 2019 taxes?
First, you do NOT return any stimulus payments already received.
Second, the Recovery Rebate Credit is based on your 2020 federal tax return, filing status, dependents and the 2020 AGI.
Go to this IRS website for Recovery Rebate Credit information - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/recovery-rebate-credit-topic-b-eligibility
A1. The eligibility requirements are the same for the Recovery Rebate Credit as they were for the Economic Impact Payments except that the credit eligibility and the credit amount are based on your 2020 tax year information. The Economic Impact Payments were based on your 2018 or 2019 tax year information.
@charandy - let me explain why I think you are frustrated... here is how the law works:
does that make sense and clear up any confusion? Please post back!