Had no income in 2020, got stimulus check 1, ended up with $600 in fed. refund per TurboTax.

[philgordon340]

Had no income in 2019 and filed manually (sent 1040 and 104 by regular mail), got no refund whatsoever. Single, no benefits, no dependents, no purchases, nothing. In 2020 my situation did not change - had no income. I only got my stimulus check ($1200) in April, 2020 or so. This time I decided to e-file with Turbotax, which resulted in getting a federal refund of $600. Why?

[CatinaT1 · Accepted solution]

This is for the second stimulus payment.

If you did not receive your first and/or second stimulus payment or if the amount received is not correct, you can claim it on your 2020 tax return as the Recovery Rebate Credit.

In TurboTax Online, to claim the Recovery Rebate credit please do the following:

1. Sign into your account and continue from where you left off
2. Click on Federal in the left-hand column, then on Federal Review on the top of the screen
3. On the next page titled Let's make sure you got the right stimulus amount, click on Continue
4. Follow the interview
5. TurboTax will determine whether you are entitled to any additional stimulus
6. Any stimulus amount remaining due to you will show as a credit on line 30 of your form 1040.

[philgordon340]

Thank you Catina! This makes sense. However, I find it notable that a day after I e-filed with Turbotax, I received a $600 stimulus paycheck by mail. Have I e-filed too early? Because the status is still showing 'Pending' (for both Federal and State), and it shows my fed refund ($600). Or, did they just pushed this so fast that I am already getting the $600 refund? Though when e-filing, I put my bank account info in the 1040, so they direct-deposited... I'm confused.

[CatinaT1]

It's just coincidence that your stimulus showed up the next day.  Since your refund consists of only the stimulus payment, it is possible the IRS will process your return without rejecting it, in which case if you cash your stimulus check they will know and should automatically adjust your Rebate Recovery Credit, but it's impossible to know for sure at this point though.

When you filed, it is like dropping it into a mailbox - you cannot get it back, even if it's pending.

You'll have to wait until your return is either accepted or rejected when the IRS starts processing returns on February 12.

• If rejected, you don't need to do anything.  You already got your money and there is no need to file.
• If accepted, you'll need to wait and see if the IRS automatically adjusts your return.  I assume they will, but if not, you will need to amend your return.

[philgordon340]

Thank you! I will wait 🙂