Why did a schedule 5 be on my 2018 Tax, I don’t believe I added this, confused how it gets on the tax form now Irs says I owe that money back

[carolbloemke]

Got a letter that Excess social security tax withholding shown on my return

[VolvoGirl]

Are you married and filed Joint?  And you both had W2s?  The IRS is probably right.  They usually are in this case.  You assigned both spouse's W2 to the same person so it looked like that person went over the max.

For 2018.  Do you still have copies of all the W2s?  Look at box 4.  Did either of you have more than 1 employer?  You only get excess SS back if one person had more than 1 employer and those employers took out more than the max of  $7,960.80.  So add up your W2 box 4.  Is it more?  Then add up your spouse's W2 box 4.  Is their box 4 more than $7,960.80?

Or check W2 box 12.  You may have entered Code A by mistake.

[xmasbaby0]

Did you file a joint return?  This can  happen when you enter W-2's for each spouse and enter them  under only one of the names.  You will need to look at the worksheets that are part of the pdf and see if you entered the income under only one of your names--which would have been a big mistake--or under both names.  When the Social Security withheld is entered under only one name and if the amount entered from box 4 of your W-2's is "excess" Social Security it gives you a bigger refund than you should have received.  When the IRS catches the mistake they want that money back.

How much did you say was withheld from your own box 4 of your  W-2  Was it more than $7960.80?  How much did you say was withheld for your spouse's W-2 box 4?

That is the most common reason for this problem.  Unfortunately, it is user error.  As you prepare your return, several screens alert you to it.

And if you did in fact make the mistake of entering all of the income for your W-2’s under only one spouse’s name, you may have made that same mistake on the next year’s tax return if you transferred all your data over from the past year to the next.  Check to see—before you get another IRS letter.

[carolbloemke]

Is this issue able to be fixed

[xmasbaby0]

First----is that the mistake you made?  Did you enter all of the income under one name?  You fix the 2018 mistake by paying the IRS.  And you check to see if you made the same mistake on your 2019 return.  If you did, then amend your 2019 return before the IRS sends you a letter about it.  You will probably owe some tax when you amend 2019 too.

How do I amend my 2019 TurboTax Online return?

https://www.irs.gov/filing/individuals/amended-returns-form-1040-x/amended-return-frequently-asked-q...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1908543-do-i-need-to-amend

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3318997-how-does-the-refund-math-work-on-amendments

Look more carefully at the income screens when you enter a W-2---there will always be a spot with each spouse's name on income screens.  You have to be careful to enter the income under the right name on a joint return.