My stimulus check is wrong. What now?

@DADavis80 @Angel82 @Kturpin34 - I have seen press reports where dependents have been inadvertently omitted by the IRS.  The dependent needs to be under the age of 17, otherwise there is no $500 stimulus. 

the IRS is to send you a letter within 15 days after you receive the stimulus. Hopefully there are instructions on their if you dispute the amount your received.

Turbo Tax is not involved in these payments whatsoever.  They are sent from the IRS directly to you. 

@DADavis80 - not receiving the $1200 for spouse is odd.  Spouse is a US citizen or resident alien with a valid social security number, right? 

Here is the "worst case scenario" -  not ideal - but it will work itself out

• The stimulus payments are really based on your 2020 tax return (income, dependents, etc).
• The IRS is using either 2018 or 2019 – whatever is available  - to ESTIMATE that payment
• When you file next year there will be a “settle up” section on the tax return. 
• If you are due more stimulus (and this would include where you simply never received for a spouse or a dependent), you will receive it through the 2020 tax filing.
• If you received too much stimulus (not the issue here), by law , you are not required to return it

does that help? 

@katwoman0508 - there are reports in the press that there were errors with the dependent payments.  Suggest waiting for the letter from the IRS that they are required to send within 15 days of the payment to determine "next steps" 

why did you file at the turbo tax stimulus website if you also filed a tax return?  that could be the source of the confusion as well. 

That would be the amount if you made around 93,000.  It might be based on your 2018 return.  They are suppose to be sending letters to tell you how they figured it.  

@Brianmc72 - interesting! what is on line 9 of your 2019 tax return? if you received $1046 from stimulus, that would imply that line 9 is $177,080.

or if for some reason, they only recognized one of you, that would infer line 9 was $78,080????

you both are US Citizens (or resident aliens) with valid social security numbers? right? 

A1.  You may be eligible to receive a Payment if you:

• Are a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien;
• Cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else’s return;
• Have a Social Security number (SSN) that is valid for employment (valid SSN); and
• Exception: If either spouse is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces at any time during the taxable year, then only one spouse needs to have a valid SSN
• Have adjusted gross income below an amount based on your filing status and the number of your qualifying children.

anything resonate? otherwise, waiting for the IRS to send you a letter within the next 15 days to explain what they did is the only thing to do. 

@dan420 - please look at your tax return closely where you child's name is listed.  WAY OVER to the right, there is a check mark.  Which column is it in?

if under 'child tax credit' , the the IRS made a mistake.  Wait for the letter to arrive in a few weeks from the IRS and hopefully there will be a process indicated on how to complain about such errors.,

if under 'other dependent tax credit', there is a mistake in how you filled out the tax return.  It is possible that you didn't get enough in the way of tax credits for the child, so you must amend BOTH 2018 and 2019 tax return,  THat is a 16 week process and there is no guidance from the IRS what they are going to do about the stimulus, but amend in any event because those tax credits are way more valuable than the $500 stimulus.  PLEASE LET ME  KNOW THAT THIS IS THE CASE and if you have trouble figuring out the error on the return.

if the issue is the error on your tax return itself as I describe above, the worst case is that you'll get the $500 stimulus on your 2020 tax return.  Here is why

• The stimulus payments are really based on your 2020 tax return (income, dependents, etc).
• The IRS is using either 2018 or 2019 – whatever is available  - to ESTIMATE that payment
• When you file next year there will be a “settle up” section on the tax return. 
• If you are due more stimulus (and this would include where there was a child where you didn't receive the $500 originally)  you will receive it through the 2020 tax filing as an additional refund
• If you received too much stimulus (not the issue here), by law , you are not required to return it

let me know what you find! 

If you didn't fill out information on the non-filers' portal at www.irs.gov, the IRS has no way to know you have eligible children.  You can try using the portal right now or wait until 2021 to file a return.