Still waiting for $10,200 unemployment tax exemption - IRS transcript dated 8/20/21 shows no adjustment yet
I filed my taxes in February before the new law passed about the $10,200 unemployment tax exemption. It's almost October now and I'm still waiting for my unemployment tax refund adjustment. I pulled my IRS account transcript dated 08-20-2021 and I'm completely confused. According to my transcript, my AGI was $10,898.00 (not the $11,240 I originally thought). I had $1,890.00 in withholding (slightly more than I remembered). The transcript shows: - Filing Status: Single - Adjusted Gross Income: $10,898.00 - Taxable Income: $0.00 - Tax Per Return: $0.00 - Return Due Date/Received Date: Apr. 15, 2021 - Processing Date: Mar. 15, 2021 TRANSACTIONS: - Code 150: Tax return filed - 03-15-2021 - $0.00 (14211-450-45697-1) - Code 806: W-2 or 1099 withholding - 04-15-2021 - -$1,890.00 - Code 290: Additional tax assessed - 04-27-2020 - $10.00 (16254-999-05099-0) - Code 290: Additional tax assessed - 01-18-2021 - $0.00 (16254-999-05055-0) - Code 766: Credit to your account - 04-15-2021 - -$1,000.00 - Code 766: Credit to your account - 04-15-2021 - -$1,800.00 - Code 846: Refund issued - 03-02-2021 - $4,690.00 - Code 290: Additional tax assessed - 07-26-2021 - $0.00 (17254-588-05043-1) My transcript shows I received a refund of $4,690.00 back on March 2nd, but I don't see anything about an unemployment tax adjustment. I thought most people had this automatically processed by the IRS months ago. My current account balance is $0.00 with $0.00 in accrued interest and penalties as of Aug. 23, 2021. Am I missing something obvious here? Does my transcript indicate if I'm going to get anything back for the unemployment tax exemption? I'm getting really frustrated with this whole process and can't figure out if I should keep waiting or take some action. Is there a specific code I should be looking for that would show the unemployment adjustment is coming?
41 comments
Ryan Andre
Check if you got a letter from the IRS called a CP21 or CP22. They send those out when they make adjustments to your return. If you didn't get one, might be worth calling them (prepare to wait forever) or creating an account on the IRS website to check your notices there.
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Nora Bennett
Thanks! I looked through all my mail from the last few months and don't see anything from the IRS. I do have an online account but there's nothing there either. Guess I'll have to call 😫
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Lauren Zeb
Good luck calling irs... ive been trying for 3 months and cant get thru. Their hold times are worse than NY unemployment 🤮
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Daniel Washington
bro calling the IRS is literally impossible. I tried 37 times last month. THIRTY SEVEN. And never got through. System is completely broken.
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Aurora Lacasse
I was stuck in this exact situation! After weeks of trying to call the IRS with no luck, I tried claimyr.com to help reach NY unemployment to see if they could explain whats going on. Got a callback within an hour and the agent told me that I need to check with my tax preparer because the state had already sent the info to the IRS - talking to an agent got my $ unlocked so fast. They also gave me a special IRS number to call that wasnt the main line. Check them out: https://youtu.be/Rdqa1gKtxuE
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Anthony Young
Is this some kind of ad? How would NY unemployment know anything about your federal tax refund? That's an IRS issue not a state issue.
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Aurora Lacasse
Not an ad! NY unemployment has to report to IRS how much they paid you, and sometimes there are reporting errors. The agent explained that my benefits were reported incorrectly which is why the IRS didn't process my adjustment automatically. Once that was fixed on the NY side, my refund came through in 3 weeks.
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Charlotte White
does this claimyr thing actually work? sounds too good to be true tbh
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Aurora Lacasse
100% worked for me. Been trying to get through to someone for weeks and was ready to give up. The service just keeps calling for you and connects when a real person answers. Saved me literally days of my life on hold.
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Admin_Masters
wait do they need like all ur personal info and stuff? seems sketchy
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Aurora Lacasse
They just connect the call - you talk directly to the unemployment office. Like having someone hit redial for you until someone answers. Saved me hours of frustration.
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Matthew Sanchez
i had a similar situation and i figured out the problem. look at line where it says "766 credit to your account" with the -$1,000 and -$1,800 amounts. Those look like they might be stimulus payments, not your unemployment tax adjustment. The unemployment adjustment should show as a separate 290 or 971 code with the amount or a 846 "refund issued" if they already sent it.
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Ella Thompson
The IRS is massively backlogged on these unemployment tax adjustments. My cousin just got his last week and he filed in January! There's literally millions of returns they're trying to process. I'd give it another month before panicking.
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JacksonHarris
a month?? bro its been 7 months since biden signed that law. at wat point do we panic? 🤔
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Ella Thompson
fair point lol. but the IRS is seriously understaffed. I read somewhere they're still processing 2019 returns for some people so...
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Jeremiah Brown
Not to mention all the child tax credit payments they're dealing with now... system is totally overwhelmed.
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Royal_GM_Mark
Did you file jointly with a spouse? If so, your combined income might have put you over the threshold where they phase out the unemployment tax break. The benefit starts phasing out at $150k combined income.
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Nora Bennett
Nope, filed as single. My total income was only about $11k so I should definitely qualify for the full tax break.
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Amelia Cartwright
OK so here's what's probably happening (I work in tax prep): From your transcript, it looks like you already got your refund of $4,690 on March 2 (see code 846). The IRS hasn't processed your unemployment adjustment yet. You need to look at how much of your AGI was from unemployment. If all $10,898 was unemployment, then about $10,200 of that should become non-taxable under the new law. But your taxable income already shows $0, so you might not get any additional refund. The IRS is processing these in batches by complexity. Single filers with simple returns went first, then married, and they're still working through more complicated situations. Here's what to do: 1. Calculate how much tax you actually paid on that unemployment income (if any) 2. If you think you're owed more, try calling the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 (good luck getting through) 3. Consider using a service like claimyr.com to help you reach them - it's what I recommend to clients who are stuck in limbo Hope this helps! Tax stuff is confusing even for professionals sometimes.
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Chris King
This is actually super helpful, thanks! 👍
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Nora Bennett
Thank you so much! This makes a lot more sense now. Looking back at my original return, I had enough credits that I didn't actually pay tax on the unemployment income, even though it was included in my AGI. That explains why I'm not getting an additional refund.
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Rachel Clark
Wait how did you know their refund was $4,690? I only see 4 digits in the image
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Amelia Cartwright
The transcript shows code 846 (refund issued) on 03-02-2021 for $4,690. It's there in the transactions section!
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Zachary Hughes
the ny unemployment tax break is such a mess... i filed in april and STILL haven't heard anything. IRS website is useless, phone lines are always busy, i'm about to just give up on ever getting my money 🤡
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Mia Alvarez
Your adjusted gross income (AGI) was $10,898 according to your transcript. The unemployment exclusion is $10,200. So only $698 would be taxable, and with the standard deduction you'd have zero taxable income anyway. This is why you're not getting an additional refund - you already owed zero tax.
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Nora Bennett
That makes so much sense, thank you! I was assuming I'd get something back just because everyone was talking about the unemployment tax break, but I guess in my case it didn't make a difference.
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Carter Holmes
exactly this! not everyone gets more money from the UI tax break. depends on your overall tax situation.
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Sophia Long
Anybody else feel like the government creates these "helpful" programs but makes them impossible to actually use? Between ny unemployment issues and now this tax mess, i'm convinced they just want us to give up and go away.
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Angelica Smith
preach 🙌 the system is designed to be confusing on purpose
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Logan Greenburg
conspiracy theory much? lol it's not malice it's incompetence. never attribute to evil what can be explained by bureaucracy.
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Sophia Long
after the year i've had fighting with these systems, i'm sticking with my theory 😂
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Charlotte Jones
have you tried checking the IRS 'Where's My Refund' tool online? Sometimes that shows info that's not on the transcript
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Nora Bennett
Yeah I've checked it a few times - it just says my original refund was processed and nothing about any additional refund.
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Lucas Bey
If ya want real help and not reddit guesses, use claimyr.com to reach someone at the unemployment office who can actually look at your account. Then ask them to explain what was reported to the IRS. I wasted months trying to figure this out myself before I just bit the bullet and got someone on the phone who explained everything in 5 minutes.
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Harper Thompson
how much does that cost tho
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Lucas Bey
whatever it costs it's worth it... i spent like 30+ hours trying to get through on my own. time is money my dude.
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Caleb Stark
This might be silly, but have you checked your bank account statements from the last few months? Sometimes the IRS sends these adjustments without any notice and they get deposited with a weird label that doesn't clearly say it's from the IRS. Worth a look!
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Nora Bennett
Actually that's a smart idea! I just checked and don't see anything that looks like it might be from the IRS other than my original refund, but good thinking.
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Jade O'Malley
LOL another day another person trying to navigate the nightmare that is ny unemployment and taxes. Welcome to the club, we have jackets and therapy sessions on Thursdays 😂
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Hunter Edmunds
can i get the address for those therapy sessions? asking for a friend 👀
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Jade O'Malley
it's at the bar down the street from the unemployment office. first round's on me!
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