Last year I filed my 1040 jointly with my wife who is an immigrant through TurboTax online. I and our two children are U.S. Citizens. At that time my wife had both a Social Security Number and an ITIN. We had filed our 2017 and 2018 tax returns jointly using her ITIN, but since she had her Social Security Number already for 2019, I intended to use that for the 2019 return. Also I knew the rule that I should use the SSN as soon as she received it, so I used it on our 2019 joint 1040 return.
Unfortunately TurboTax and the IRS failed to accept the online submission. I called TurboTax to ask why it was not accepted, and the agent told me that the rejection was based on "identity matching failed" for my wife. They said I would need to revise the return and use her ITIN, because the IRS did not recognize her SSN. I did that, and the return was accepted online.
Later in the Spring the IRS announced that families with ITIN filers would be ineligible for the CARES Economic Impact Benefit. As a result, we did not receive anything, even though we are eligible. The problem was TurboTax. I later found out that I should have printed our 2019 income tax return, using my wife's social security number, and sent it to the IRS together with a letter rescinding her ITIN, and a photocopy of her Social Security Card and Employment Authorization / Residence Card. I wish TurboTax had known that!
When I found out about this, I wrote a letter to IRS to explain all of this. I enclosed the required photocopy of her Social Security Card and mailed it by registered mail with a return receipt card. This card was never returned to me. I called the post office about this and they told me that there are trucks full of mail in Texas because the IRS is not working in the office. Who knows when this will ever be processed?
Apparently the IRS still does not recognize the eligibility of my wife, because they sent only $1800 for the second stimulus payment, rather than the $2400 for which we should have been eligible. Now is there anything I can do to correct this situation, and get the first $3400 we are entitled to as a family, and the additional $600 my wife should have received in January 2021?
Also, why did the TurboTax Call Center people not know this information? I doubt I will ever trust them again.
