The IRS rejected my 2020 baby for the recovery rebate, but accepted her for my child tax credit.

[Cfaithn]

@SweetieJean I agree, I don't fault them for their mistake. I believe that department has had a lot on their plate this past year and they are just people like you and me working there. I also think people have the right to what they were promised so I'm just hoping I can help get some answers and hopefully money they were told they would get. I don't mean anyone harm but want to help hold a system accountable when it makes mistakes. 

[NCperson]

@SweetieJean - see my private message to you 

[Cfaithn]

@NCperson sure that could have been possible but not in my situation. I know how much my family was supposed to get and it was $1100 short because we had a baby born in 2020 and it was based off the 2019 return. So as I said, I know what the numbers are and we were supposed to receive $1100 for my new baby. 

[Cfaithn]

@SweetieJean I'm so sorry I don't see your private message. 

[NCperson]

it is not based on 2019 return - that is what makes this all confusing for many. 

it is based on your 2020 return LESS what you received for the first two payments..  

A simple example. You have a child who was 16 in 2019 and a new born in 2020.  You are married. 

The stimulus payments were $2900 and $1800 for the parents and the 16 year old.

Then you calculate your 2020 tax return.  There is a new born.  The 16 year old is now 17 year old and not eligible.  You are eligible for $2900 and $1800 for the parents and the newborn

There would be no additional payment on Line 30 in this example but the newborn was part of the calculation!!!!

[Cfaithn]

@NCperson the amounts for the stimulus people received in 2020 WAS based off 2019 tax returns. It is simple math to figure out if you have missing money or not. If you had a baby in 2020 and also had no children turning 17 any time soon  then the amounts you received for the two stimulus checks in 2020 are MISSING the due amount for the baby born. 

[Cfaithn]

@NCperson you keep going back to the fact that if you had a child turning 17 but both of us on this forum keep telling you that none of our kids have or will be turning 17 so we were given $1100 less what we were due (when we received the two stimulus checks) for our new baby born in 2020 because there would be no "figuring/adjusting" needed since we received the correct amount for our whole family minus the full amount for the new babies. 

[VolvoGirl]

Hope this doesn't duplicate any posts above.  Did you have the 1100 on 1040 line 30?  And the IRS sent you less and subtracted it?  And you entered the amounts you actually got for the first 2 rounds in the right boxes?

[Cfaithn]

@VolvoGirl Hello. Yes the $1100 was on line 30 and the correct amounts for the stimulus' received were correct and entered correctly. The IRS informed me that they were deducting the $1100 from my projected return and gave me the new amount that they will be direct depositing for my 2020 taxes. 

[VolvoGirl]

If Turbo Tax gave you 1100 on line 30 you must have qualified.  Then only the IRS can tell you.  Do you have a high income in 2020?  Maybe the IRS increased your income so you don't qualify for any more based on 2020.  

The Recovery rebate credit is really based on your 2020 AGI, not 2019 or 2018.  See my posts on this one.  I found a couple IRS links that say if you don't qualify  for more based on 2020 and you don't have to pay it back if you got too much.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-credits-deductions/discussion/recovery-rebate-tax-credit/00/17...

And see the employee expert answer here

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/taxes/discussion/recovery-rebate-credit-stimulus-incorrect/00/1942...

She said......

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.

[Cfaithn]

@VolvoGirl I totally agree. At this point given the situation I think only the IRS can tell me as I do believe they made an error. We are under the income guildlines by more than enough for that even to be a factor that could have played into it. Thank you for the links. 

[TSOWOATNKCR]

If you call the Economic Impact number they tell you that it is a 1040 issue. BTDT.

[Cfaithn]

@TSOWOATNKCR ok I have some good news for you! After being on calls/hold nearly all day today I was able to find out that the IRS (or at least the accounts management department) is well aware of an issue with the line 30 Recovery Rebate Credit. I was told that because it was new this year they have been having to adjust taxes for people for their mistake of rejecting this Rebate for some tax payers. Here's how to get your money back.....once your refund is in your bank account then call them and they can adjust the taxes again to get you the rejected line 30 amount. I will update again once all is said and done and I have actually received the money because that's when we will know its actually corrected. 

[Lortiz2]

I also had a child in February 2020 and after 4 hours on the phone was told over and over that a child only qualifies for the recovery rebate credit if they were listed as a dependent on my 2019 tax information. I argued with her I referenced the information directly off of the IRS website that states the EIP was an advanced payment based on 2019 and it states for the first and second payments a child born in 2020 will qualify for the recovery rebate credit. She said no the law says they have to qualify in 2019. I referenced her to the page that states eligibility for the recovery rebate credit has the same criteria as the EIP’s but is based on your 2020 tax return information. It also says if you have a child that was born adopted or fostered in 2020 they will qualify for the recovery rebate credit. I asked if I could speak to someone else and she said there is no one else to speak to and told me over and over again that any baby born in 2020 is not eligible for the recovery rebate credit. Eventually she hung up on me. I called back and spent another 2 hours talking to someone else that transferred me to someone who agreed with me but wasn’t the person to help me to transfer me to someone that can and then I got hung up on again. So it seems to me that the ones working for IRS are not understanding the difference between EIP and RRC and that they have the same laws but are just based off of different tax years. There has to be a way for us to get these payments. My child was born before the pandemic started here. Early February. I had daycare lined up and my return date to work and all of that was cancelled. My family took a huge hit and we were counting on this extra money. I’m going to continue to call them until I get someone who actually knows what’s going on.

[VolvoGirl]

Who did you call?  The IRS or Turbo Tax?  Yes you can get the 1,100 (500+600) Recovery rebate credit for your baby.  Just enter your baby on your 2020 tax return.  Unless your 2020 income is too high to qualify for any more.

Go back to My Info and make sure you said your baby lived with you the WHOLE YEAR and not just the number of months.  Even a baby was born on Dec 31 is considered to live with you the whole year.  You might have to delete the baby and re add him.  Pay attention to the questions, especially the one asking if he paid more than half of his support.  

Then at the end you enter the amounts you already got and if you qualify for more it will be added to 1040 line 30.

Your stimulus check is based on the number of qualifying people listed on your tax return for 2020. You don't receive a check for the new baby necessarily, it is just based on the number of qualifying people listed on your return. Do you have other children?  Any turn 17 in 2020?