3

So I am in the process of completing my taxes on Turbotax and I am confused with the following. I am under Federal Review section where I am presented with the following question:

    Let's double-check the amount you received 
   
    Based on the  tax information you entered and your combined adjusted gross income of XXXXX, you and 
<mySpouseName> are eligible for a third stimulus payment of $2800.
        
        Does this match the amount on Letter(s) 6475 for you and <mySpouseName> ?
        
        
        Yes 
        
        No

I am married filing jointly my return and my spouse has a ITIN number since she is not eligible to work in the United States based on her visa status.

Question #1: I don't understand why the software is not recognizing this and still counting my spouse to be eligible. Since I am the only one who received $1400 last year, when I selected No, it asked me to enter the amount I received, when I entered $1400, it's adding $1400 in my tax refund which I don't think is correct. The only way to avoid this situation I believe is to answer yes to above question but that is also not true since I didn't get $2800 amount in total. What should I do in this situation?

Question #2: Should I wait for the letter 6475 from the IRS? I can't access it on my online account on the IRS website.

Question #3: My first child was born in October last year and the turbotax is counting $3600 child tax break for me. However, based on the Recovery Rebate rules mentioned here, I should be able to claim my child for third EIP as well. But none of the software I used thus far are taking into this account. Am I understanding this correctly that I should be able to claim additional $1400 for my newly born child last year?

Edit on Feb 14.

We received the letter 6475 today and it has made things more confusing for me. For me, it says that I have received $700 in EIP in 2021. This is not true since I got $1400 deposited in my account in March 2021. My spouse letter says she got $700 EIP. This is not true since she didn't get anything as she wasn't eligible.

Edit on Feb 16.

FreetaxUSA software is recognizing the child credit of $1400 in recovery rebate credit. They showed me how it was calculated so I was satisfied with the calculation. I believe other software are doing the same but they don't let me see how it has been calculated. So my Question #3 is resolved I believe

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

1, 3. You are correct on both counts. Since you guys are filing jointly and one spouse has an SSN and the other one doesn't, you guys qualify for $1400. Then you have a dependent, so you qualify for another $1400, for a total of $2800. Subtracting the $1400 you already got in EIP3, you should get an Recovery Rebate Credit of $1400 on your tax return. I don't know what you can do but try to complain to TurboTax support, or file it manually. I think answering the questions wrong is probably okay as long as it gets the right Recovery Rebate Credit result, since only the final credit amount is entered on the tax return, not your answers.

(By the way, can your spouse get an SSN soon? Your spouse qualifies for the credit as long as they receive an SSN by the tax return deadline for 2021, including extensions. So if they may get an SSN by October 15, 2022, you should file for an extension, and if they get an SSN, claim their credit too.)

  1. It's not necessary to get the letter. It just tells you the amount the IRS thinks they sent to you. But if you know what amount you received, that's all you need for your tax return.
Improve this answer
8
  • Thanks for your answers. Yes, I'm planning to apply for EAD for her and that will give me an option to get SSN for her. But it might take 7-8 months or maybe an year based on USCIS processing time. Can I file it later on once she gets an SSN? Question 2: I edited my post based on letter 6475 I got today. That is confusing me more now. Please take a look once you get a chance.
    – Tan
    Feb 14, 2022 at 21:40
  • @Tan: If you look at the instructions for 1040 line 30, if your EIP was issued based on a joint return (from the prior year that was used to determine the EIP), then each spouse is treated as having received half of it, for the purposes of computing the Recovery Rebate Credit for this year. Since you guys received $1400, each of you is treated as having received $700. This matters if for example you guys are filing separately now. Since you guys are filing jointly now, it doesn't matter and you treat it as $1400.
    – user102008
    Feb 14, 2022 at 22:43
  • @Tan: The SSN must be issued by the due date of the tax return, including extensions, to qualify for the credit. What is her immigration status?
    – user102008
    Feb 14, 2022 at 22:44
  • She is on a dependent visa - H4. I will have to apply for her H4-EAD (using USCIS Form I-765) in order to get SSN. 1. Since I have been filing jointly ever since we got married, does $700 on each of our names sound good? Doesn't it contradict the fact that since she has ITIN, she is not eligible to receive any form of payment? Thanks!
    – Tan
    Feb 14, 2022 at 22:55
  • 1
    @Tan: Although it's useful to think of the $1400 as "for you" and her "not getting anything", technically the law just says that joint filers, where only one spouse has an SSN, get $1400 (plus $1400 for each dependent) credit on your joint return. So the $1400 is for both of you, and if you guys are filing separately now each would be considered to have gotten half of it.
    – user102008
    Feb 14, 2022 at 23:47

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .