Turbotax is calculating a payback of my stimulus payments. Should this be happening?

[xmasbaby0]

You might have become confused by the flow of information in the software.   That "refund monitor" on your screen displays a "refund" amount that includes the stimulus money. as part of your 2020 refund.  The software starts off by giving you the stimulus money.   But later when you enter the amount of stimulus you really received already, it removes the stimulus already given to you.   And it looks to you like you "lost" your refund,   But ---you do not get the same stimulus money twice--that is why it came out.

Look on line 30 of your Form 1040 for your recovery rebate amount.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901539-how-do-i-preview-my-turbotax-online-return-before-filing

Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

[owin]

THE 1040 LINE 30 recovery rebate credit needs to show on this line to sum the return correctly, e.g. $2800 shown on LINE 30 will calculate by the software to increase the tax due by the same amount. So, check to see IF the Step-by-Step "Federal Check" brings up a verification of stimulus payment amounts. IF checked "YES," verifying letter 6475 amounts, then the 1040 LINE 30 amount goes away. "0." When this happens the tax due is increased, that is if a tax due is calculated by all other entries.

This may be a glitch in the software. 

If you want to see the side by side 1040 difference, print a .pdf of the 1040 with the recovery amount verified. The remove it and bring up the 1040 again. Compare. You are paying the recovery amount back as an add on in your final lap of calculations. 

Keep in mind that IRS articles indicate this #3 stimulus check is not taxable nor is it to be paid back. Check out IRS postings in this regard. 

[xmasbaby0]

What you may not realize is that as soon as you began to prepare your tax return, the software was giving you the $1400 and it was shown on that "refund monitor" -----but when you entered that you received it already, the software had to reconcile the payment you received,   You cannot get it twice---so it looked to you like you "lost" $1400.   You did not lose it, you are not being taxed on it ---you just cannot receive it twice.

And as always----do not take that "refund monitor" on your screen seriously until ALL of your information has been entered.   That monitor had many people expecting much bigger refunds than they were going to get and then when the questions came to reconcile the amounts already received --- those big refunds were gone.

[owin]

Popular comments on this subject are suggesting that TT starts by showing a credit of the amount of the received stimulus check(s). To verify this, start a new return. If the amount due tab shows green and in the amount of your stimulus check, then those popular comments are probably true.

It is a curious thing when a tax calculation software is coded to queue this assumption, such that a filer would have to omit the amount, rather than allowing the filer to directly enter the amount received.