If you got unemployment compensation in 2020 and overpaid taxes on it, the IRS has now finished making the final corrections to your 2020 tax year account.

March 2021’s American Rescue Plan Act exempted up to $10,200 in unemployment benefits in 2020 from taxation (up to $10,200 for each spouse if married and filing jointly). Those individuals and married couples with modified adjusted gross income below $150,000 (either alone or jointly) also qualified for the exclusion.

The IRS revised a total of 14 million tax returns. The average refund was $1,232, and there were approximately 12 million of them. The total amount refunded was $14.8 billion.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made measures to reduce taxpayer burden by reviewing previously filed Forms 1040 and 1040-SR to see if taxpayers had already included unemployment compensation as income and were thus qualified for the adjustment. Unemployment benefits and taxes were correctly calculated by the IRS.

While the excess was refunded to some taxpayers, it was used to tax bills and other obligations owed by others. It’s possible that in some circumstances, the exclusion had no effect beyond lowering their AGI. The Internal Revenue Service sent a letter to anyone affected by the changes. That letter should be filed away with the taxpayer’s tax documents.

If the IRS did not correct an eligible taxpayer’s account, they might be required to file an amended tax return for 2020 to claim the exclusion and any applicable non-refundable or refundable credits affected by the exclusion.