US Income Tax Thread: Bank error in your favor! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > US Income Tax Thread: Bank error in your favor! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL.

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Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Pungent Mammy posted:

So I can claim the second $600 payment as the RRC, but the third $1400 payment may still be disbursed by direct deposit or check when one of the newer returns is processed. Do I have that right?

Yes! Sorry to be a little vague on the third payment, but it's been all over the place as far as processing goes. For that I'd just suggest continuing to check Get My Payment for additional updates on your 3rd payment and there should also be more general clarification on our website as that becomes available.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2021 20:14

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 21:26

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Pungent Mammy posted:

Thanks, I�ll keep checking that. Do you recommend waiting to file 2020 until I see that 2019 has been processed?

No. They're processed separately so generally speaking there's no reason to wait. If you're filing 2020 electronically, just keep in mind since 2019 hasn't been processed that when it asks for last year's AGI as part of the e-file signature process you just put in a 0.

# ¿ Mar 25, 2021 21:12

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

hanales posted:

As someone who refreshes wmr and igmr and /irs looking for updates to my early filing with no movement, and watching all the frustrated people call over and over again and scream about irs workers, I just wanted to say thanks for your service. I can�t imagine what a nightmare this year has been for y�all.

Thanks, and honestly this thread's been a little therapeutic in that regard. I definitely get why a lot of people are frustrated. It's not just needing the money but also just not knowing what the gently caress is going on with their filings or stimulus payments, so being able to give some assistance or even just a little clarity to some of the goons here helps alleviate some of that "Playing music on the deck of the Titanic" feel.

cheese eats mouse posted:

Did they move back the Fed estimated quarterly tax due date for 2021 or is that still April 15?

Unfortunately, the quarterly estimated payment is not included in the general filing extension; it's noted in the sixth paragraph here

# ¿ Mar 31, 2021 01:11

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

empty whippet box posted:

IRS website says 3 weeks to get your return after filing - it's been two, so I'm not surprised it's not in yet, but anyone filed in the last month get theirs yet? Just wondering if it'll be slower than usual due to backlog or what.

It depends on what happens after you file your return. If everything checks out you should get your refund within the three week timeframe. If there's anything on there that gets the return flagged for a manual review (such as having to double check a Recovery Rebate Credit claim in some cases or income not matching up with the W2s filed by employers are a couple of the common ones) it can take a lot longer than usual as the submission centers are really far behind in processing.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2021 22:54

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Some potentially good news for you preparers who had filers with unemployment income. The IRS has announced they will be making the adjustments for the taxes on already-filed returns.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-to-recalculate-taxes-on-unemployment-benefits-refunds-to-start-in-may

It's going to go in phases with the Single filers first and the Joint filers and more complex returns later in the year. This will only adjust for the taxes charged on the unemployment income, so if there are other changes such as a filer being eligible for more of an EIC as a result of the income adjustment you'd still need to file an amended return to claim that.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2021 23:05

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Quabzor posted:

About a month ago, I started filing with FreeTaxUSA, My wife was certain we shouldn't have gotten a bigger return so 2 weeks later i put our info into turbotax to check and she was right, but when I logged back into FTUSA, we were getting back significantly more (I hadn't changed anything since I logged off the last time).

Now today I went back to see if I could find more info to put into FTUSA to see if I could make them match, but now TT and FTUSA are very close in the return amount. Again, i haven't added any information to either since I logged off last time.

It's possible that's what happened if you had unemployment income. The unemployment income tax waiver process just got finalized in the last few weeks and the changes get rolled out to each tax preparation vendor separately, so one could have been updated sooner than the other. There should be an option to see the tax return forms themselves (the tax prep software basically uses the information you put in to fill out the forms for electronic submission). You could look at those to see if anything changed (in particular, if it was the unemployment income tax waiver, you'd see an adjustment to income on line 8 of Schedule 1).

# ¿ Apr 6, 2021 00:53

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

empty whippet box posted:

guessing that means since I filed taxes on my business, that means my return will take 3-6 months :\ really sucks because we're at the stage of borrowing money based off our expected tax return because we're desperate as gently caress and hope it comes in soon, so I guess soon we'll be at the stage of telling a lot of people we don't know why it hasn't come in.

If it's been more than three weeks since you've filed and it's not showing a refund date, give the toll-free line a call (if possible, do so in the early morning or late evening for your best chance to get through, the line is open 7am to 7pm). They might be able to give you a better idea where things are at and how much longer you'll have to wait.

hanales posted:

Does it mean anything if your transcript as of date changes to a future date Friday morning, and then reverts back to the original in the afternoon? Mine does this weekly.

And is there a difference between “still processing” and “we have received your return and it is being processed?

The system in general and Where's My Refund in particular can be a little wonky so these changes are not unusual. Sometimes you'll even see the return disappear entirely when it's status is changing which could mean anything from you're about to get a refund date to the return has been flagged for further review. I think "still processing" means the return is in processing but it's beyond the normal timeframe but I'm not sure.

The best advice I can give is the same as above if it's gone past the normal processing timeframe (if you call prior to that you'll just be referred back to checking the Where's My Refund system for updates).

# ¿ Apr 8, 2021 16:49

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

PageMaster posted:

My question is: if I was going to be called out for an audit or requesting of additional info by the IRS, would it have happened before"approved," or am I still potentially waiting for a nasty letter for the next couple of years?

Unfortunately, all "approved" means is that there weren't any immediately egregious errors like the math not adding up or incorrect identifying info such as an incorrect Social Security number or date of birth.

Most likely you would get the letter requesting additional information at one of two times. The first would be during the initial processing of the return. If it gets processed without any questions then you might still get an AUR letter from the Underreporting department next Fall.

(For the background on that, the Underreporting department system automatically compares the income documents filed with the IRS with what is reported on the return and flags any discrepancies for an information request, usually through a CP2000 notice. However, since the IRS may not receive all income documents from financial institutions until up to 13 months after the end of the year in question, that process doesn't take place for a fairly long time. Usually CP2000s and the like go out in the fall of the year following the filing, so the AUR notices for 2020 returns wouldn't go out until Fall 2022.)

If you don't get a letter at either of those points you're probably clear, but hold onto the documentation after that because you never know what kind of complications can come up with retirement accounts in subsequent years.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2021 21:31

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

PageMaster posted:

Thanks, not what I was hoping for but what I expected. Would any future requests be something I could reasonably expect to understand and handle by myself or would I need to make sure I have a CPA or some type of tax attorney handy?

Under the circumstances you described you'd most likely just need to send a statement of explanation with the relevant supporting documents. If that's not enough you would get a follow-up notice for additional information and you could speak to a tax professional at that point if needed.

quote:

Either way, I just need to make sure my address with the IRS is updated after my move so this doesn't get lost. I just wish everything didn't take years to happen sometimes.

If you move I'd suggest filing an 8822 (it's an IRS address update form you can download from the website) in addition to filing a change-of-address with USPS. USPS is supposed to update the IRS as well when a CoA is filed with them, but whether that actually happens is inconsistent in practice.

# ¿ Apr 13, 2021 18:29

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

sale on Banksy art posted:

If I call the IRS to change my address, how quickly does that take effect?

I don't know about businesses, but for individuals it takes place immediately for some purposes (sending out letters or notices) and 3-4 weeks for others (mailing checks). Also, if a return is in processing the submission center automatically updates your account with whatever address is on the return once processing is finished. That's causing more problems than usual right now for people who mailed in print returns (which are currently taking months longer to process than usual due to the backlog) and then moved, because even if they update their address with us it'll go back to the old one once their return processes (and no, there usually isn't any way around that, thanks to our ancient main database and our limited, usually indirect data sharing across the systems used by phone line assistors versus submission center systems).

So be sure to file a change of address with the USPS as well and if you're expecting a check to be mailed out, check with your local post office to see what their policy is. Some will forward IRS checks to the new address, others won't, it's based on local USPS procedures.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2021 14:16

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Elephanthead posted:

So trying to efile TurboTax and it says my 2019 agi doesn�t match and rejects it but it is the same amount as on my irs transcript? What am I messing up?

Here's a couple of things that might be happening:

1) Was your AGI adjusted subsequent to your original return filing, such as filing an amended return? If so, the adjusted AGI might not show on the return transcript but should be visible on an account or record of account transcript.

2) Was your 2019 return fully processed after the end of 2020? The database for the AGIs is compiled for the efiling system at the end of the prior year (so for example, efiling systems in 2021 are only using the AGI information as it was available in IRS records at the end of 2020), so if there was a delay in processing 2019 and it wasn't finished until 2021 the 2019 AGI wouldn't be in the efile system. In that case, you'd use a $0 for the AGI instead.

I'd check for either of those things to see if they might apply before trying to submit again. After a certain number of failed attempts due to an AGI mismatch the efile system may block any further submissions, forcing you to file by print and that's a morass you want to avoid if at all possible right now.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2021 01:49

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Ur Getting Fatter posted:

If a worksheet for a form works out that the credit is $0, should I still file that form or do I just skip it?

E.G.: I have education expenses last year but the worksheet for form 8863 gives me $0 due to how my taxable income worked out. Do I still file form 8863?

You can skip that form. You'd only file that if you were actually claiming a credit and since it's zero in this case you don't need to include it. That's just for the 8863. Generally speaking, regarding forms for credits you only need to include them if you are claiming an actual credit amount but there might be cases where you need to include a form even if the credit zeroes out (like an 8962 for ACA insurance). In those circumstances the instructions or tax software should advise you that including the specific form in question is required.

# ¿ May 12, 2021 00:14

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

GhostofJohnMuir posted:

i saw that the automatic corrections for early filers who weren't able to account for changes to 2020 unemployment apparently started going out last week. does anyone know if there is general guidance on an expected timeline, and a way to check on the status of individual returns? i'm expecting to have my returns corrected early on (single filer with a w2 and two 1099s who elected to receive aca subsidies as a lump sum, so i'm assuming i fall into the "simple case" category), but i have no idea what how long i should wait before assuming there was some kind of problem with the auto correction on my return.

Unfortunately there's no more specific guidance on the timeframe at the moment other than what you stated. If you're able to set up an account on IRS.GOV you can check your 2020 account transcript for updates. Once the adjustment is completed you should see a Transaction Code 291 which reflects a reduction in tax. Subsequent to that you'll see a TC 846 for the refund being issued.

I don't think the Where's My Refund tool will be of much use. IIRC it doesn't update for subsequent refund issuances though I could be wrong.

# ¿ May 19, 2021 20:25

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

pmchem posted:

is anyone who filed taxes at the deadline still waiting on their electronic refund?

not an issue for me, I'm just curious as to how the IRS is doing this year (efficiency-wise)

Not well, unfortunately. The combination of being understaffed even before COVID on top of all of the attendant shutdowns and limited service center capacity for social distancing reasons has put everything way behind. The worst hit are print returns but even electronically filed returns are taking a big hit.

The latter is primarily due to last-minute tax law changes resulting in a lot of things the automated e-file return system can't handle as well as a lot of people who don't normally file submitting returns for stimulus payment purposes. A lot of that requires someone to manually review the return and either get it sorted out so it can finish processing or issue a letter if more information or action is needed on the taxpayer's part. If a letter does need to go out, that's also experiencing additional delays because our centers don't have the capacity to keep up with the massively increased volume of correspondence we're issuing.

If it's been more than three weeks since you filed your return and the Where's My Refund system is still just showing that it's in processing, you can give the toll-free number a call at 1-800-829-1040 but there is a long wait time for an assistor usually and if it's showing that status in most cases there won't be any additional information available. If WMR shifts to "take action" status and you haven't received a letter with more detail, then you should be able to get more specifics over the phone.

Sorry you're experiencing that delay and I hope this info helps.

# ¿ May 28, 2021 17:31

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Epi Lepi posted:

Thanks for the inside scoop, I have a lot of clients who were filed in March and even February who just keep showing as "processing" on WMR and this is good info to get them off my back.

FWIW as one of the afore-mentioned phone assistors, this cases are frustrating for everyone involved because for most returns in that status it just shows that the return has been flagged for review but not why until someone at the service center has a chance to review it so I usually can't even say if there's an actual problem that the filer may want to gather information proactively for or if someone in processing just needs to tweak or approve it without any extra info needed from the taxpayer.

Sometimes I can make an educated guess for certain frequent issues -- the current year option to use the prior year's income for calculating EIC, any Recovery Rebate Credit claim where the eligibility isn't immediately obvious are two big ones, and if they had marketplace insurance and didn't include an 8962 are common ones -- but even then I don't know if those are the only issues and other than sending in the 8962 in the latter case there's nothing I or the taxpayer can do to move it along anyway. Even the Tax Advocate Service won't take those cases because there's nothing to work with until someone in the submission center has chance to review it.

If you do want an additional resource to direct your clients to, under the Coronavirus Tax Relief category on IRS.GOV there's a link to an article on "Mission-Critical Functions". It won't have information on their specific case but will have general info on the delays, where the IRS is on getting caught up, etc. Sometimes it's nice to have something official you can point to so they can hopefully calm down a bit.

# ¿ May 28, 2021 18:09

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Cabbages and Kings posted:

Per our accountant, "Unfortunately there is a known issue with people that had a prorated stimulus payment, which you had. For some reason the IRS is not processing these as of now and is not giving any guidance on when they will release the refunds for these but I have heard it will take some time. Sorry but that is the best information I have as of now."

I have reached out for clarity to see if this relates to the first check, or the second. My understanding is that overpayments on the stimulus checks were never going to be rescinded, so I am assuming that this relates to the fact that roughly $1000 of the expected refund, was the result of having gotten $1000 less in stimulus check #1, than #2?

Can anyone shed any light on this for me? I don't understand this poo poo at all and generally don't want to, there is a reason I pay someone to deal with this poo poo, but said person seems pretty helpless in this current landscape.

It's not exactly that the IRS isn't processing them but rather that refunds with Recovery Rebate Credits with that type of pro-rated issue need to be reviewed and verified manually and the submission centers are running way behind (see upthread for details). Unfortunately, said backlog is large enough that there's not even an estimate at this time when things will be caught up in general much less with individual returns. So at this point it is a waiting game.

Epi Lepi posted:

You picked a bad year to paper file. You can try calling but after your hour+ wait they will probably not be able to give you any information. Keep waiting or e-file the return.

Epi's got it on one. With the print returns you won't see anything on Where's My Refund until it actually begins processing and with the backlog it may take a lot longer than usual. If you're not seeing anything on WMR the chances of getting any more info over the phone are pretty low. Usually with print returns us phone assistors aren't able to see anything either until the return starts processing so we can't even verify it's been received yet.

Also, I don't suggest mailing in another print copy of the return (I'm noting the following just because a lot of people panic and do that when their print return doesn't show up in the system). If we get multiple returns in processing we have to stop everything to reconcile them and then once we start moving forward the returns get processed on the amended return timeframe of 16 weeks instead of the normal 6 week timeframe on top of all of the other delays. Submitting an efile copy of the return does also technically run that same risk, but honestly the delay on processing print returns is so bad right now that the efile return will probably finish processing before the print return even starts (if you have the option to submit an efile return).

Peyote Panda fucked around with this message at 06:54 on Jun 2, 2021

# ¿ Jun 2, 2021 05:41

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Cabbages and Kings posted:

I assume that at some point late in the year the IRS has to switch gears to getting ready for 2021 (as well as all the business as usual from quarterly filers, etc). Do you think it's reasonable to assume that this un-estimatable backlog will be cleared out by, like, early Fall or even that is too hard to predict?

Unfortunately I don't have a clue at this time. I'm getting everything second hand as I'm not at one of the submission centers but throughout the season they were steadily extending the time frames until they just gave up and said basically we'll get to them as we get to them. I think your idea to treat the return as being in limbo until you hear something and planning appropriately is the best option.

Edit: I forgot, things are about to get even more hosed because we're shutting down the Fresno service center in the next month or so. That was part of an on-going consolidation as e-filing becomes more common that was started years ago so administratively there's not an option to stop or delay it. We already have cases being put on hold to transfer them to other service centers. Good times.

Peyote Panda fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Jun 3, 2021

# ¿ Jun 3, 2021 16:50

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

MadDogMike posted:

Kinda wish I could find the tax accounting equivalent of the mug we got our family hair dresser one year - "I'm a beautician not a magician". There's just no good rhymes I can think of for tax prep (I do taxes not hexes? Filing not conjuring? Keeping you in the black not the black arts?).

"I'm a calculator, not a prestidigitator"?

Ur Getting Fatter posted:

Hopefully that bill giving you guys more money will get passed through reconciliation and things will hopefully start getting less poo poo.

Even with the extra funding it'll be a long strange trip. It can take months of training for even the most basic functions and our recruiting last year was poo poo. Normally we hope for and usually get three times as many applicants as we have open positions which still leaves us with a decent pool after all the washouts for not meeting the necessary requirements ab initio, etc. Last year we didn't even get as many applicants as we had open positions in most places.

And demographically we're about to really take it in the rear end because something like 40% of our workforce is hitting retirement age in the next few years. You can imagine how losing about half your staff at any given job, and the most experienced half at that, would have an impact. "Fortunately" the economy's bad enough some of the old timers may put off retirement because they're not ready to lose their home or start eating dog food quite yet. And between budget cuts and reduction in force orders we don't have the money or hiring authority to even replace all the people quitting/retiring much less increase our staffing numbers.

Hopefully some of that will start to be addressed by the current administration soon, but the IRS was really on a downhill slide even before COVID due to factors like those above. Of course, rich donors to elected officials don't have to worry about getting their refund on time and are better off with the revenue and exam functions being too turbo-hosed to properly audit high-income people and businesses, so there's not a lot of political incentive to fix the problem.

It really sucks for the taxpayers and I find myself thinking a lot along the lines of JFK's quote, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." Or taking morbid solace in the climate change thread that these problems may not amount to much in the face of civilizational collapse within the next 20-30 years.

Jesus, that got morbid. On a brighter note...

MadDogMike posted:

(though I will grant the soundtrack to my personal hell is a nice choice designed to soothe incipient psychotic breaks, though when I'm calling at 7am to beat the rush it practically puts me to sleep).

I was on the IT help desk line waiting for help for 3-4 hours a couple of years back and still remember going through my own Kubler-Ross trip with the music. At first it was nice, then it got annoying, then I tuned it out entirely, and then I started rocking out to it without even being consciously aware at first that I'd gone full-on headbanger.

# ¿ Jun 4, 2021 05:15

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

H110Hawk posted:

How do those two things work together? (I realize the answer is "It's the part of the government rich people hate.") Is this like Office A has 10 open heads for position X and Office B has a RIF order for 10 heads in position Y kind of thing? Or is it much stupider than that?

(Narrators voice: We all know it's much stupider than that.)

The specifics are probably more complicated but a lot of it boils down to just not replacing losses due to attrition or putting limits on the amounts of new hire openings available for mass recruitment such as the yearly cattle call for new customer service representatives. People in higher grade positions may also be offered cash incentives to retire early to close out a given position sooner.

A few years back the IRS commissioner got called in front of Congress to explain himself when he had the temerity to open 700 Revenue Officer positions to replace the 1200 ROs that had quit or retired in the previous year. They even demanded he account for where the budget money came from for that. He had to draw out how when you no longer have to pay 1200 people that leaves you money to pay for 700 other people.
:negative:

# ¿ Jun 4, 2021 20:46

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

FBS posted:

Does anybody know what steps the IRS is taking to verify Recovery Rebate Credits claimed on 2020 returns?

I got the first $1200 stimulus via direct deposit, no problem. But I moved last fall, before the $600 stimulus went out. The IRS site says they sent it by mail, but I never received it. So when I filed my 2020 return in May I claimed the $600 rebate.

I don't particularly need the refund money right away, and I understand it will take a long time to process. The biggest reason I'm asking now is that the same thing happened with the $1400 stimulus this year - the IRS said they mailed it, I never received it. All three payments ($1200, $600, $1400) appear on my transcript.

I don't know if there's any documentation I need to prepare or what. I don't know what to expect from the IRS in this scenario. Ideally I'd like to take some action to get the $1400 sooner than next year's return, but I'm sort of waiting to see how they treat the $600 before I try to act on the third stimulus.

No need to wait since the 2nd and 3rd stimulus payments will be resolved by separate unrelated processes and it may be best to get the ball rolling on both of those sooner rather than later.

For the second stimulus does it show the $600 payment going out and then being returned as a credit to your 2020 account? If it shows the credit being put back on the account, then the IRS knows you did not receive the second stimulus payment and will give you the Recovery Rebate Credit as they process the return.

If it doesn't show the latter, then the IRS will assume you received the payment and deny the RRC. In that case, you want to contact the IRS EIP (Economic Impact Payment) hotline at 1-800-919-9835 and have them do a refund trace to verify you did not receive the payment. You don't need to wait for the 2020 return to be processed to do this, in fact it's better not to wait as that way they may be able to correct it in the initial processing whereas if you wait until afterward it may take longer to complete the same process.

For the 3rd stimulus payment, if it's been issued and you haven't received it, there's no need to wait on doing the refund trace for that regardless of the situation with the 2nd stimulus payment. The EIP line would handle that as well, and can do it on the same call if you need to contact them regarding the second stimulus payment. Be sure to have a copy of your tax return for this year or last year with you along with the supporting documents such as W2s when you call. Security procedures for things like address updates (which they may need to input on your account during the call) may require your assistor to ask questions from those as part of overall identity verification so if you're not able to provide the correct answers they may not be able to access the account or take the necessary corrective actions.

The EIP line should be open 7AM-7PM in your time zone as long as you're in the continental US. Early or late in the day is your best chance to get through - as you can imagine that line's really busy right now.

# ¿ Jun 6, 2021 01:33

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Epi Lepi posted:

Or if you're unemployed all year and need help with insurance but then get a well paying job in the last few months or even weeks of the year you may have to pay back all of your credit. Seen quite a few people hosed by that.

Another one I saw a lot of people get hosed by in 2020 (at least until the American Rescue Plan suspended the repayment of the excess APTC) was taking money out of their retirement plans to help themselves or their families due to COVID-related financial issues not realizing it would count as income of marketplace purposes.

I ended up doing a lot of calls helping people out with marketplace insurance tax issues the last few years and it really made me feel the cruelty of the tax system in some respects. Yeah, you might get some help with purchasing insurance but you're going to get whole complicated system between multiple government organizations that you have to navigate and can easily gently caress yourself for not understanding all of the terms and conditions. And all this extra administrative bullshit is being dumped onto low-income people whose lack of resources and education make them the most vulnerable to being confused or outright exploited by these processes.

I felt the same thing all over again with the stimulus payments. Even if you have a burning need to means-test it why not send out the payments to everyone and then make rich people with accountants figure out how to pay back their portion instead of making desperate people jump through a bunch of hoops to maybe get some assistance? Because gently caress you, that's why.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2021 05:00

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

MadDogMike posted:

As I understand it, if you're in the Medicaid income range they won't offer Marketplace insurance on the healthcare.gov website, but they certainly don't penalize you for it if you have Marketplace insurance but fall below the poverty line on your return.

There's a provision that if your estimated income when you signed up for the marketplace insurance made you ineligible for Medicaid at the time you enrolled but your actual income ended up being low enough to qualify you shouldn't be penalized as long as the estimated income was reasonable.

quote:

I do agree with Peyote Panda the whole thing is an over-complicated mess that punishes people (doesn't help when there's things like the SLCSP being listed as $0 instead of the correct amount on the 1095-A, so screw you if you don't know how to find the rather hidden tool on healthcare.gov to get the right numbers),

I've also seen cases where the taxpayer did that and it got held up in processing because it didn't match the 1095-A though fortunately that got better after the first year.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2021 16:30

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Small White Dragon posted:

Had an interesting conversation and couldn't find an answer either way.

Can you request/do voluntary withholding from a 1099?

Assuming you mean a 1099-Misc for contractor work, it's not my area of expertise but as far as I can tell there's no reason you couldn't ask for it but the payer wouldn't be under any obligation to honor that request (and at the very least it would require extra work on their part so they'd probably be reluctant to do for that reason alone).

# ¿ Jun 16, 2021 19:44

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Small White Dragon posted:

Some creative folk (who do work for multiple clients) were having a discussion about how much of a pain taxes were to handle, and apparently really excited by the idea that they were just get some of their clients to withhold at X%.

I mean, I don't think twice about doing quarterly filing etc if I need to, but I also realize I may not be in the norm.

Taxes are definitely something that can freak people out and it doesn't surprise me that some people would be willing to eat a temporary loss with additional withholding to avoid the hassle. I talk to plenty of people of the Economic Impact Payment hotline who spent hours on hold to talk to someone and are extremely desperate to get money but the prospect of having to fill out a few lines on a 1040 to give the IRS enough info to get their stimulus payments is too much for them to handle so they freak out or shut down and then hang up.

Unfortunately, in this case the clients are probably paying them as 1099 contractors instead of employees at least in part to avoid the hassle of things like withholding (like Banksy said)

Peyote Panda fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Jun 17, 2021

# ¿ Jun 17, 2021 05:48

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Double Deux posted:

Two questions for the thread:

1. Is there any way to check on if the unemployment tax refund credit is processing? I filed super early but have seen nothing on that front.

2. Should I amend my tax return seeing as 3/4 of my income last year was from unemployment income? I hesitated on it because the IRS kind of emphasized not doing that just for the refund, but it might also allow me to claim other credits? At least, that's what a freetaxusa email I randomly got hinted at but who knows.

1. The transcript suggestion is a good one. Specifically you would want the account transcript as it shows adjustments subsequent to the original return. You can get that online through the Get Your Tax Record section on IRS.GOV.

2. The IRS is only adjusting for the reduced tax from the UI deduction. If you have other deductions or credits that would get you a better tax benefit due to the AGI reduction, then you'll want to file an amended return (for example if you couldn't claim the Earned Income Credit before but would now be eligible).

# ¿ Jun 24, 2021 00:30

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Looking at the California Franchise Tax Board site, it looks like they handle late filing penalties the same way as the federal government, namely as a percentage of the amount due if you owe taxes. Since you had a refund instead of owing taxes, there is no penalty.

# ¿ Jun 27, 2021 07:49

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

sullat posted:

I mean, that's what's going to happen no matter which god he prays to, unless he picks the only one that the IRS obeys, which is classified.

Yeah, unfortunately it's standard operating procedure to update the address of record when a return finishes processing to whatever is listed on the return. The only time that might not happen would be special circumstances such as the return ending up in Examination and you've given them your updated address.

The USPS change of address is good, but double check with your local post office to see if they forward IRS checks as that's a matter of individual policy for each branch. If they don't forward it then they should return it to the IRS at which point you can call to get your address updated and the check re-issued.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2021 23:36

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Pollyanna posted:

Dumb question, https://www.idverify.irs.gov is real, right? Got a letter saying I need to confirm my ID for any refunds or credits.

Yes, it's legitimate. You can find more info by going to IRS.gov and typing IDVERIFY into the search box, but basically the IRS is double checking to make sure the return they received was a legitimate one you filed and not a fraudulent return filed by someone else. All sorts of things can trigger this so it doesn't necessarily indicate there's an issue with the return itself.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2021 17:19

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Strong Sauce posted:

i'm not sure what constructive receipt means... but i did get notice of it, just never the actual certificates.

Constructive receipt is when you first actually had access to the funds, even if you did not take action until later. For example, generally speaking if someone sends you a check, the date that you received the check was the date of constructive receipt even if you didn't cash or deposit the check at that time.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2021 22:52

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Night Danger Moose posted:

The woman told me the cheque was mailed on June 7th and if I didn't get it the next week to call back so she can trace it. It can't be tracked through the "where's my refund?" tracker because it's not part of my regular return. Is there anything I can do? Or do I just keep trying to call and hope to get through eventually?

It can take up to four weeks to receive a paper check from the IRS (6 if it went to an old address and you have mail forwarding, 9 if it's a foreign address), so don't call back until the day you hit the applicable time frame because they cannot start a refund trace prior to that.

The assistor you spoke to previously should have verified that the address the IRS has on file for you is correct. If it needs to be updated and that hasn't been done yet then when you call back make sure you have a copy of your tax return and the supporting documents (W2s, etc) because they may need to ask some additional security questions to make that change and those questions would come from the return.

Unfortunately in this case there's nothing you can do other than call back if you haven't received the check within the given time frame.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2021 16:34

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Cabbages and Kings posted:

I finally got our return that we filed in mid March, so there's that. We had a prorated stimulus check in 2020; this triggered an automatic manual review and so there was no recourse except to wait in line.

Ultimately it appears the IRS decided they owed us $100 more than our tax preparer had concluded. I first noticed that our return had gone from "accepted" to "in review" at the end of last week, and as of this morning it showed an 8/4 date for fund release, already available according to our bank.

I believe this also means we're now means tested out of the $300/mo child tax credit we had only started getting, we'll see. We have two kids now, so it's either going to go to $600/mo or $0, and I believe it will be $0 based on the AGI on the return they just processed.

If your filing status is Married Filing Joint, the modified AGI phase out amount is $150,000, but the phase out only applies to the additional amount that the Child Tax Credit is set to increase not the entire credit. There's an eligibility tool on IRS.GOV under the Advance Child Tax Credit section that you can plug your 2020 return info into to get a better idea of how that return will affect your payments.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2021 16:28

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

The IRS sent me a letter. Apparently they owe me a $1200 refund check, which they say they sent (must have been to an old address) and it expired. I'm supposed to call them for a new one.

Only: I called the number on the letter and the phone tree gave me no relevant options. I went with a non relevant option. It took me five tries of this - waiting on hold for hours and hours - until I finally got someone on the line, who said she couldn't help me because it isn't her department. So she transferred me to a different line (a number not listed on the letter I received.) I waited on hold for another 1.5 hours, then got silence, punctuated only by the distant sounds of a crying baby. I am not making this up.

Every other time I have called either line, I wait on hold forever after navigating the world's most infuriating phone tree, and then get "our lines are too busy. goodbye!" and it hangs up. I tried making an appointment at the Boston IRS office but their line does the exact same thing, and you have to get an appointment to go in.

Is there anything I can do? I'm considering getting a CPA or lawyer involved but I dunno if there's anything they can do, and it might also end up costing me most of that check.

Is it exactly $1,200 and are you a single filer with no dependents? If both of those apply, it's probably your first stimulus check. The CP32 is a routine letter that gets issued if a refund check isn't cashed within 12 months (though usually it takes a bit longer than that before the actual notice is sent). However, while having you call to have the check reissued would be the normal procedure this may not be what you should actually do if it's related to your first stimulus payment. This is because unlike normal refunds (and what the CP32 states as a boilerplate message) the IRS is not actually reissuing the 1st or 2nd stimulus payments as checks any longer.

Instead, if you are still eligible for that money based on your 2020 filing information, you should claim it as a Recovery Rebate Credit on your 2020 return. If you've already filed that return and claimed the credit, you should get it as part of the 2020 refund (or it'll go toward your tax balance due if you owe money). If you have already filed your return and did not claim the RRC, you should check to see if you're still eligible (you can either fill out the worksheet in the 1040 instructions or read over the eligibility rules for the RRC on IRS.GOV). If you're eligible but didn't claim it on your return and the return's already been processed, you can call to either have it corrected over the phone or file an amended return to claim the credit though with the amended returns they normally take up to 16 weeks to process and may take longer with the current on-going backlog at the submission centers.

Also, as far as getting an appointment at a local office, the appointment line is open 7AM-7PM so you might have better luck getting to a live assistor if you call early or late in that timeframe.

As far as getting a CPA or a lawyer, if the above is what's happening there's really no point as there's nothing they could get done any faster than you can. They'd just be charging you for taking the same steps above.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2021 00:16

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

Thank you for this EXTREMELY helpful information. It sounds like filing an amended return is my best option. I really appreciate your help. You have saved me a ton of headache.

The joke is that I'm just going to turn it around to pay off what I owe for exceeding projected income on my health plan, but whatever, I'm not gonna spend another hour on the phone about it. I'd rather get the check, cash it, and write another check, lmao. What a highly functional agency.

BTW, if you are filing an amended return, you now have the option to file that electronically so long as the original 2020 return was also filed electronically.

Also, it sounds like you have or are anticipating owing a the IRS a repayment of your Advance Premium Tax Credit. If that's the case, you can note on the 1040X form that you want your refund applied as an estimated tax payment to a specific year. Refunds with a RRC have been handled inconsistently as far as the normal automatic refund offset process, but if you select it as a credit elect and say you want it applied to a specific tax year that should get it treated the way you want and save you the hassle of getting the check just to resubmit it as a payment.

If you owed the APTC balance for 2020, doing it that way might even save you some money as the amended return refund would be treated as a payment made on the due date of the original return and would result in reduction of the penalties and interest based on the payment having been made on that earlier date.

Peyote Panda fucked around with this message at 02:35 on Aug 16, 2021

# ¿ Aug 16, 2021 02:30

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Discendo Vox posted:

If you are eligible to file your amended return electronically, do not file a paper amended return. The processing steps and associated delays are much greater.

Seconded!

Also if you did owe APTC for 2020 the IRS has now suspended repayment for 2020 only. You won't have to file an amended return for that alone if it applies in your case (the IRS is making adjustments for that automatically) but if you are filing an amended return for other reasons you can include that adjustment as well.

Shageletic posted:

so if I still havent gotten my refund, I should be gearing up for an audit right.

Not necessarily. With all of the tax law tweaks just prior to and during the tax season there's a lot of returns that need manual verification even if everything was done correctly. And with the current processing backlog that's especially true if you had to mail in your return instead of e-filing.

You'll definitely want to make sure you have all your paperwork in order - even if there's not a full audit the processing center may ultimately need some additional information to complete processing the return - but the delay is not itself an indicator that you're going to be going through an exam.

Is there anything showing on Where's My Refund?

# ¿ Aug 16, 2021 17:18

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Cabbages and Kings posted:

Okay, maybe someone can explain this to me.

Our AGI in 2019 was under 150k and we had one child at that time and the first COVID child tax credit payment we got was $300. This was before our 2020 return had been processed.

In 2020 we had a second child and my AGI was just over 160k.

The IRS just processed my return and my understanding was that I would get paid for both kids except we are over the 160k total phaseout. So, I was expecting a drop to $0.

The next payment we got, was for $245.

Does this make any sense? I feel like I must be missing something in the thresholds or something.

There's two levels to the AGI phase out. The first one for joint filers starts at 150k but can only reduce the Child Tax Credit to $2000 per child at most. There's a second phase out at 400k that can reduce it to 0. Your income was only enough to trigger the first phase out so your payments were just reduced instead of being eliminated.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2021 19:55

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

sullat posted:

Processed, that's a good word. What does it mean exactly? Is the check being printed as we speak, ready to be signed by Janet Yellen and sealed with a loving kiss? Does it mean that a bunch of hollow-eyed auditors are staring at it, red pens at the ready? Or is it in a big pile of papers with a sign over them that says "processing"? Or maybe it's being processed into mulch to use on the service center lawns. Who knows? The good thing, at least, is that there is a process.

On the bright side, as least you know it's been received. At this point it's just a waiting game. If there does turn out to be an issue and the processing center can't sort it out without additional info, you'll eventually get a letter letting you know what they need. If there are no issues or there's something that does need to be corrected or verified but the processing center has the necessary info it should eventually give you a refund date. Unfortunately with the current overall backlog there's no definite timeframe for any of that to happen.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2021 15:40

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

MadDogMike posted:

Any number on the backlog? I've been mentioning it to my clients to try to reassure them it isn't the mean ol' IRS singling them out, but I'm not sure what they're down to now. 14 million, 15 million?

I don't know anything other than what's listed at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-operations-during-covid-19-mission-critical-functions-continue link at IRS.GOV (ooh, it says we're down to 12.7 million unprocessed returns as of August 6th!) though I suspect just based on previous news releases that this may be painting a little more optimistic picture than what we're seeing at the service centers. And with the recent spikes I'm wondering if we're going to end up seeing another shutdown due to a COVID lockdown, though the federal government as a whole seems to be determined to whistle past the graveyard on that issue.

quote:

God only knows what the "did you get the advance child tax credit" review is going to look like next year given how the recovery rebate stuff has been going (also I'm fairly sure they've been rejecting people who legitimately never got some of the stimulus, really hope THAT is easier to work out with the CTC stuff). Be nice if the IRS ever actually got any time or support to set these things up before having to frantically implement them!

We probably won't know for sure until we start processing the returns for next year, but it could be better (people at least seem to have more options for updating their info to make sure they're getting their payments) or worse (each payment that gets sent to the wrong place and never returned needs to be traced separately and we're looking at up to 6 payments for the Advance CTC as opposed to the 2 EIP payments).

There's also a lot of confusion with the AdvCTC payments as in many cases we're sending them the same way the person is receiving other government benefits such as Social Security and Veteran Administration benefits so we're getting a lot of calls already from people who may have received their benefits but not realize it which will complicate reconciling it when they're filing next year. Another nifty thing that the IRS started doing without telling anyone was digging into payment records and sending AdvCTC payments to banks that were listed on payments previously submitted to the IRS, so the AdvCTC may be going out to a bank account the taxpayer doesn't remember because it was one that they had two or three years ago when they mailed us a check one time back in 2018.

In those cases (assuming the payment hasn't been returned to the IRS yet) all we can really do is advise people to contact said bank. A lot of callers are oddly reluctant to contact their bank for reasons they never seem willing to fully articulate, which has been kind of odd.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2021 12:21

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

sullat posted:

How is the IRS getting around that whole emerald card thing where the money goes to a random bank account the taxpayer doesn't know about before being sent to the card the tax prep place gave them? Or how they check the box on Turbo Tax to have the payment come out of their refund, and now the refund goes to TT's account before hitting theirs?

In theory the IRS also had access to the second account the payments would ultimately end up at (though I don't know how) and would send the payment directly there. In practice that's worked inconsistently at best and a fair amount of the time the deposit has ended going to the intermediary account and then just sitting there.

Usually how those latter cases get resolved is the taxpayer contacts the IRS and we give them the necessary contact info to reach out to the financial institution in question for further assistance. We can also run a refund trace but those can take up to 90 days to hear from the bank and sometimes the response may just be that yes we sent the deposit to the bank account on your return so contact them if you have any questions.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2021 16:15

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

MadDogMike posted:

Also, because it�s that partner bank that handles this and not H&R Block ourselves, we may ask you to call them directly to get help; please don�t scream at the poor tax preparer on the phone about how we�re trying to steal your money because we can�t cough it up out of our pockets right then and there .

Likewise the IRS phone assistors are learning for the stimulus/AdvCTC payouts to use the routing number to provide the actual financial institution's name and contact info to reach out to them directly instead of pestering their tax preparer. Unfortunately that can be inconsistent depending on the call center in general and a given team's manager in particular how well those tips get passed down to the front line.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2021 21:07

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# ¿ May 12, 2024 21:26

Peyote Panda: Mar 10, 2019

Thesaurus posted:

For anyone still waiting, my federal return was finally processed!

Now to wait for them to undoubtedly mail the check to the old address that i tried in vain to correct, wait a month for it to not get forwarded, and then start the process over again...

I wouldn't be so antsy if it weren't so very unreasonably large because my withholding was hosed up all year.

Have you checked with your local Post Office to find out what their policy is? Some will forward your treasury check if you have mail forwarding in place, others will not.

If your local PO does do mail forwarding it may take a couple of extra weeks. FWIW, the IRS policy is not to do the refund trace for a missing check until four weeks have passed from the original date the refund was released but if there is mail forwarding that gets extended to six weeks. OTOH if the post office returns to the IRS sooner than that you can call or submit an address update to get it the reissue process started sooner. If you've been checking the account transcript, if you see a Transaction Code 740 that means the USPS returned the check to the IRS and the credit's back on the account so it can be reissued once the address is updated.

Ideally they just forward your check but if not I hope this info helps a bit.

# ¿ Sep 7, 2021 03:40

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > US Income Tax Thread: Bank error in your favor! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL.

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