The TurboTax app said I qualified for a Social Security Refund, but after pinging both the IRS and my employers, it seems like this is a mistake on TurboTaxes end.

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
June 8, 2019
8 replies
0 views

I received two different W-2 forms and am under the $7,960.80 withholding.

Why is TurboTax trying to claim a $6,125 refund for excess Social Security withheld?

TurboTax Self Employed Online

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SweetieJean

Employee

Did you file a Joint return?

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Opus 17

Employee

A $6000 refund is not the rounding error I was talking about, it is most likely you entered one of your W-2s incorrectly. Double check them or delete the W-2s and start over.

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Anonymous

What if everything is correct?

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Anonymous

There is an amount in box 12a on my W-2. Would that affect it?

VolvoGirl

Employee

Yes. What Code is in box 12a? You might have picked the wrong code. Don't confuse the "a" with the Code. That is just part of the box 12 label. There should be a separate capital letter code like D.

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Anonymous

Ah, this was the issue. Thank you!

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Opus 17

Employee

Turbotax seems very sensitive to rounding issues this year. Suppose your social security from job A is $2000.51, rounded up to $2001, and your second job is $3000.51, rounded up to $3001. That makes your total social security $5002, when it should be $5001. This seems to trigger an error this year. Try dropping your box 4 number on one or both W-2s by a few cents so it rounds down instead of up. It won't affect your income taxes and the IRS is unlikely to care about a $1 difference.

Also, as mentioned, make sure that each W-2 you enter is assigned to the correct spouse, if you are married. You can get a false "excess SS" message if your W-2s are assigned to the wrong person, making one person look like their SS was over, instead of two people with SS under the limit.