Stimulas

[Chief]

Check not received with the message not enough qualified income received. This puzzles me as the returned was jfm over 12000 reported in ss and 8000 in pension income. The man died during the year but the widow received about 8000 ss income. All this was reported on the 1040. Why is the IRS giving this message?

[Black Bart]

Don't know, but

try this number: 800-829-0582, extension 725. I had some luck with it -- a live rep advised my guy was in process and check would be mailed in five days.

It's harder to get information on post-April 15th Stimulus filers.

[dkss]

problem

Was the return efiled? If so, call IRS and verify the amount of ss benefits filed on original return.

I found out at the beginning of July that several of my clients, about 50, had their SS benefits "disappear" during the electronic transmission of the return. My software provider, Crosslink, stated the IRS system "lost" the info from box 20a of a 1040. The IRS stated they were not aware of any software transmission problems. This problem did not affect all my ss benefit people, just some of them. This problem did not affect the final outcome of the return, just the "qualifying" income for the stimulus check. Basically, if the client had no taxable ss benefits in box 20b, then those were the returns that were messed up during the transmission. I had to prepare amended returns for the affected clients. What a mess!

[JohnH]

I had one who received $12,970 in SocSec benefits and a small pension of about $2K. There was no tax liability on the return and of course I told her she would receive a $300 rebate. The rebate never showed up and the web site kept saying she didn't qualify.

When she called IRS, they said her SocSec benefits were only $1,970. It was a paper-filed return which was prepared correctly. Apparently the temp who entered the info missed the "2" in the SocSec benefits amount. We sent in a corrected stimulus return with a letter, and I assume she will get a $300 check soon (or maybe a $3,000 stimulus payment if we're lucky enough for the same temp to handle the re-do).

[ecb34691]

Another example of the terrible IRS error rate on paper returns. Latest figures given by IRS at the Tax Forum is their 26% data entry error rate on paper returns, (up from 22% about 4 years ago).

[JohnH]

IRS error, not mine.
The problem wasn't the paper, the problem was the follow-through and I'm not in the business of doing IRS's clerical work for them. I'll do my job, they can do theirs. If they make a mistake I'll show them how to correct it.

[Skate1968]

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I was not aware that IRS errors were so common.

[Chief]

Stimulus

The tp insisted on filing her return as a paper return. The IRS ignored the SS income and that was the only qualified income the couple had. The result no stimulu check. I prepared a 1040 X and mailed to them to file with copy of SS worksheet and copies of SSA 1099. How do you like correcting IRS errors and doing their work for them. I feel like sending a bill.
Thanks to all of you who replied to this post.

[Bees Knees]

The tp insisted on filing her return as a paper return. The IRS ignored the SS income and that was the only qualified income the couple had. The result no stimulu check. I prepared a 1040 X and mailed to them to file with copy of SS worksheet and copies of SSA 1099. How do you like correcting IRS errors and doing their work for them. I feel like sending a bill.
Thanks to all of you who replied to this post.

From this IRS website http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/...184823,00.html

Q. Will filing an amended return affect my stimulus payment?

A. In most cases, an amended return will not affect the stimulus payment. While amended returns will be processed to correct the income, deductions and income tax as appropriate, the economic stimulus payment amount will not be adjusted based on an amended return. The reason for this is that the reconciliation provision within the Stimulus Act gives taxpayers an opportunity to claim and receive any underpayment amount as a Recovery Rebate Credit when they file their 2008 return next year.

In very limited circumstances, amended returns that are filed solely to include previously unreported qualifying income may result in the issuance of a stimulus payment that was not issued based upon a taxpayer's original return. However, these circumstances are generally limited to low-income individuals and recipients of Social Security, some railroad retirement or certain veteran's benefits who filed their original returns prior to the IRS issuing guidance for their situation.

An amended return can result in a delayed stimulus payment if the amended return is received before the stimulus payment is issued. In this situation the stimulus payment will be issued, if applicable, once the amended return has been processed. Due to the high volume of amended returns received, please allow 12-16 weeks for the IRS to process your amended return before making any inquiries about your return and stimulus payment.

[taxea]

I advise my clients to contact the IRS if they have any questions about their stimulus payment since my only involvement was the fact that the IRS required a return to be filed. This payment has nothing to do with the tax return and everytime I check the web site they have added more restrictions. I truly don't look at this issue as my responsibility to pursue for the tax client. It costs them money for me to call the IRS when they can get a first-hand explanation for free rather than going through me. taxea

[Chief]

Stimulus

I only got involved after the son of the mother called IRS several times and was hitting a brick wall. The return was for his father (now deceased) and his mother. They have moved back to Mass. and have no representative to work with them.
The return was a simple stimulus return with no taxable income, only social security that both had received. The return was paper filed at the request of the mother. The SS income was given on the original return. The IRS staff that processed it failed to include the SS income. I felt the simplest way to correct the problem was to file a 1040X.
This was one of the free gratis services I felt I could provide. One can never go wrong by helping someone in need.

[JohnH]

I agree.
I began the season with the attitude that I was going to send the "Stimulus Payment Only" people to VITA, etc, and I posted messages to that efffect on the Forum.

As it turns out there weren't that many, and for the ones I did prepare I just didn't charge them anything. In most cases, I had compassion for most of them after contemplating being elderly and trying to live on what was showing on the return I prepared. I did have to follow up on a couple of them, including the one that the IRS got wrong. But I decided to be thankful and show a tiny amount of gratitude for the blessings I've received.

[FEDUKE404]

Why AMEND ??

The tp insisted on filing her return as a paper return. The IRS ignored the SS income and that was the only qualified income the couple had. The result no stimulu check. I prepared a 1040 X and mailed to them to file with copy of SS worksheet and copies of SSA 1099. How do you like correcting IRS errors and doing their work for them. I feel like sending a bill.
Thanks to all of you who replied to this post.

I'm confused here.

Why would you file an amended return if the original paper return was (apparently) correct, albeit processed incorrectly by the IRS?

One would think that would confuse the folks at the IRS even more, i.e. what did you explain as the "changes" on the second page of Form 1040X?

FE

[Bees Knees]

I agree and disagree

I'm confused here.

Why would you file an amended return if the original paper return was (apparently) correct, albeit processed incorrectly by the IRS?

One would think that would confuse the folks at the IRS even more, i.e. what did you explain as the "changes" on the second page of Form 1040X?

FE

The original return was correct, and it was processed correctly. They simply failed to follow the rules on issuing a stimulus check.

That is why you get a refundable credit on the 2008 return. To correct all the problems created by the advance stimulus payment.

I also disagree with those who think the stimulus payments have nothing to do with our responsibility to file a return. It does affect how we file the 2008 return. Like it or not, we are involved. We can deal with it now, or we can deal with it when filing the 2008 return. Either way we are going to have to follow and understand the rules when filing the 2008 return.

[Lion]

Yep, the IRS is always right

I remember one year going all postal on the phone with the IRS when they'd entered a client as single instead of HoH, and told me I had to file an amended return! Well, the return was in their system as they entered it, and they weren't going to correct it without an amendment. So, even though my computer had the correct return (I was at Block and it hadn't been my client originally who'd filed on paper, but our Premium office got many of the off-season IRS letters) and I was sitting there looking at the correct client's copy, the IRS was telling me to mail in an amendment. I talked them into accepting a faxed copy of the first two pages of the actual return so the client could get a faster refund of the money she'd overpaid when she got scared by the IRS letter.

I'd spent weeks working on this, since the IRS kept telling us it was an error in our computation of the sale of a rental property. The IRS moved it to a couple of different centers, making us re-fax info and retell the story. I went over every calculation on the 4797 and E and...by hand. And, showed my work, just like in math class, to the IRS. Finally, I had the IRS person on the other end of the phone read me every line, line by line, and discovered the S vs. HoH difference. Frustrating, since I'd noticed at the beginning that the difference was within pennies of the difference in the tax tables for those two statuses, but had two different centers tell me they had the client as HoH and the difference came before the tax tables came into play. Hence, my hissy fit when I was right all along, but the client had lost use of her money and we both had lost weeks of our time.