Help me understand this Turbo Tax email?
October 1, 2023 11:36 AM Subscribe
Wowee here's a very boring question re: a notice I got from Turbo Tax. I'll put the thrilling details inside for you tax, accounting and numbers experts!
The email from Turbo Tax says: Get help fixing your AGI mismatch. This year, the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) you entered didn’t match what the IRS has on file for you. Here's how to fix it:
1. Find your 2021 tax return Form 1040 or Form 1040‑NR.
2. Look for your AGI on Line 11. Tip: Use only your original 2021 Form 1040 AGI, even if you amended your return or your marital status changed. Don’t round or split numbers.
3. Sign in to TurboTax and follow the screens using this exact number to fix your return. If you’ve double-checked that your AGI on your Form 1040 matches what you’ve entered, you’ll need to enter $0 if last year’s tax return is still processing or if you didn’t file last year.
Okay, here's what I don't understand about this:
-- We used Turbo Tax earlier this year to file Kid Blah's taxes for 2022. He needed to file returns for Federal, our home state, and his college state.
-- Kid did have some instances where he had income in earlier years & filed taxes, but had not needed to file for several years.
-- While we were trying to file the 22 return, we did have problems with the prior year's AGI. He had not filed in 21, but filling the field with $0 didn't work.
-- Ultimately we were unable to file electronically so we printed the three returns via Turbo Tax and then filed on paper. He was eligible for refunds from all three.
-- The two state refunds processed normally and were received.
-- The federal return generated a letter from the IRS that required a phone call to them. After a lot of runaround it ultimately seemed that this was them verifying Kid's identity more than anything else. They did not question any details re: the 22 return. (We thought maybe this was generated by the weird combo of him having filed several times when a young kid, then not filing for several years, then filing again.)
-- Then his federal refund arrived in a timely fashion after that, and there has been no communication from the IRS or either state.
So...given that we haven't gotten a letter from the IRS, and all of his refunds have processed, do we need to go back and do whatever Turbo Tax is asking? Or is there anything else we should know about this?
Thank you!
The email from Turbo Tax says: Get help fixing your AGI mismatch. This year, the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) you entered didn’t match what the IRS has on file for you. Here's how to fix it:
1. Find your 2021 tax return Form 1040 or Form 1040‑NR.
2. Look for your AGI on Line 11. Tip: Use only your original 2021 Form 1040 AGI, even if you amended your return or your marital status changed. Don’t round or split numbers.
3. Sign in to TurboTax and follow the screens using this exact number to fix your return. If you’ve double-checked that your AGI on your Form 1040 matches what you’ve entered, you’ll need to enter $0 if last year’s tax return is still processing or if you didn’t file last year.
Okay, here's what I don't understand about this:
-- We used Turbo Tax earlier this year to file Kid Blah's taxes for 2022. He needed to file returns for Federal, our home state, and his college state.
-- Kid did have some instances where he had income in earlier years & filed taxes, but had not needed to file for several years.
-- While we were trying to file the 22 return, we did have problems with the prior year's AGI. He had not filed in 21, but filling the field with $0 didn't work.
-- Ultimately we were unable to file electronically so we printed the three returns via Turbo Tax and then filed on paper. He was eligible for refunds from all three.
-- The two state refunds processed normally and were received.
-- The federal return generated a letter from the IRS that required a phone call to them. After a lot of runaround it ultimately seemed that this was them verifying Kid's identity more than anything else. They did not question any details re: the 22 return. (We thought maybe this was generated by the weird combo of him having filed several times when a young kid, then not filing for several years, then filing again.)
-- Then his federal refund arrived in a timely fashion after that, and there has been no communication from the IRS or either state.
So...given that we haven't gotten a letter from the IRS, and all of his refunds have processed, do we need to go back and do whatever Turbo Tax is asking? Or is there anything else we should know about this?
Thank you!
Best answer: If you must check on your TurboTax status, navigate to their website yourself. DO NOT CLICK ANY LINK IN THE E-MAIL. And like mightshould said, wait for a letter from the IRS.
posted by SPrintF at 1:10 PM on October 1, 2023
posted by SPrintF at 1:10 PM on October 1, 2023
Best answer: Just noting that if you want to make a payment or do certain other things related to your IRS tax account you need to enter a prior year's AGI as way to identify yourself to the system. So that could be a reason that a scammer might want access to that number, especially if they can grab your SS number along the way.
Additional things that would make me nervous -
- you didn't file your 2022 return via TurboTax so they would not get any feedback from the IRS about whether the return was accepted or rejected. If there was a mismatch leading it to being rejected, you would have been notified at the time of filing, not months later
- If there is any other problem with your return, the IRS sends you a paper letter via USPS. Your filing service is not involved
- that wording on Step 3 is confusing which increases the odds that it could be a fake
Finally since you fixed this with the IRS I don't see any possible reason why you have to fix with Turbo Tax, even if the request was genuine.
So, my vote is "safe to ignore"
posted by metahawk at 1:47 PM on October 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
Additional things that would make me nervous -
- you didn't file your 2022 return via TurboTax so they would not get any feedback from the IRS about whether the return was accepted or rejected. If there was a mismatch leading it to being rejected, you would have been notified at the time of filing, not months later
- If there is any other problem with your return, the IRS sends you a paper letter via USPS. Your filing service is not involved
- that wording on Step 3 is confusing which increases the odds that it could be a fake
Finally since you fixed this with the IRS I don't see any possible reason why you have to fix with Turbo Tax, even if the request was genuine.
So, my vote is "safe to ignore"
posted by metahawk at 1:47 PM on October 1, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: The one thing I'll add is that Turbo Tax did know there was an API mismatch because this kept popping up as an error, and was the thing that made it impossible for Turbo to complete the electronic filing. So we got to the point of them saying, "Your option now is to print on paper and file by mail."
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:50 PM on October 1, 2023
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:50 PM on October 1, 2023
Best answer: Turbo Tax is aware that you were unable to file using their nice service.
They use different marketing on people who gave up on them before filing, than they use on people who had better luck with their product. They are relying on you having a vague idea that you didn't complete last years taxes on their site, and reminding you of this in hopes that you will log in and finish filling out last years form. Part of their marketing plan involves trying to make you feel anxious about your taxes and hoping that if you just follow their instructions it will be easy. Once they get you to log in they can ask you to pay extra money to file last years taxes, or try to get you committed to using them to calculate next years taxes.
The letter you got is almost certainly genuine and from Turbo Tax themself. But you don't need to log in and fix what they have on file, especially if you are never going to use them again, and you definitely shouldn't log in using information in the letter.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:50 PM on October 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
They use different marketing on people who gave up on them before filing, than they use on people who had better luck with their product. They are relying on you having a vague idea that you didn't complete last years taxes on their site, and reminding you of this in hopes that you will log in and finish filling out last years form. Part of their marketing plan involves trying to make you feel anxious about your taxes and hoping that if you just follow their instructions it will be easy. Once they get you to log in they can ask you to pay extra money to file last years taxes, or try to get you committed to using them to calculate next years taxes.
The letter you got is almost certainly genuine and from Turbo Tax themself. But you don't need to log in and fix what they have on file, especially if you are never going to use them again, and you definitely shouldn't log in using information in the letter.
posted by Jane the Brown at 1:50 PM on October 1, 2023 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Okay so foolishly I had already clicked on the link in the email before I asked you all. It took me to a Turbo Tax site (I think) where my Safari automatically recognized it and populated my login info. Did that...expose me to malicious actors or did the fact that Safari recognized it means it's safe?
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:52 PM on October 1, 2023
posted by BlahLaLa at 1:52 PM on October 1, 2023
Best answer: CPA here - that email solution doesn’t make any sense. Wait for a letter from the IRS.
posted by dngrangl at 2:31 PM on October 1, 2023
posted by dngrangl at 2:31 PM on October 1, 2023
Best answer: Did that...expose me to malicious actors or did the fact that Safari recognized it means it's safe?
No, you're fine. The point of those sorts of phishing emails is to get you to visit a different site that looks like TurboTax, and then trick you into entering your username and password (or other personal details) in the hope that you're not paying attention to the URL.
If your browser automatically filled in your username/password, then it was the real site.
(Even if the link had been malicious, just clicking on it and taking no other action would be very unlikely to compromise your security.)
posted by teraflop at 3:15 PM on October 1, 2023
No, you're fine. The point of those sorts of phishing emails is to get you to visit a different site that looks like TurboTax, and then trick you into entering your username and password (or other personal details) in the hope that you're not paying attention to the URL.
If your browser automatically filled in your username/password, then it was the real site.
(Even if the link had been malicious, just clicking on it and taking no other action would be very unlikely to compromise your security.)
posted by teraflop at 3:15 PM on October 1, 2023
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Until then, assume TurboTax email can be fraudulent or that they don't know you filed via snail mail or that they are starting to entice you to file via their product for 2023 and just staying on your radar.
posted by mightshould at 1:04 PM on October 1, 2023 [2 favorites]