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Level 1
June 7, 2019
Solved

I didn't receive my full federal refund

I received my money a week or so after I filed them but didn't get my full federal refund.
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  • One possibility is that you used the Refund Processing Service to pay your TurboTax Online fees. If you did, your TurboTax fee plus the additional processing fee is deducted from your federal tax refund.
  • Another possibility is that your refund was reduced by the government, either to correct a calculation error or through a refund offset. You’ll get an explanatory letter from the government if your refund differs from what was on your filed return.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301372

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/4143297

 

 

  • Also, see question 14 from the IRS FAQs

https://www.irs.gov/Refunds/Tax-Season-Refund-Frequently-Asked-Questions

Q14: Why is my refund different than the amount reflected on the tax return I filed?

If you owe past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, spousal support, or certain federal nontax debts, such as student loans, all or part of your refund may be used (offset) to pay the past-due amount. Offsets for federal taxes are made by the IRS. All other offsets are made by the Treasury Department's Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS). For federal tax offsets, you will receive a notice from the IRS. For all other offsets, you will receive a notice from BFS. To find out if you may have an offset or if you have any questions about it, contact the agency to which you owe the debt. See Tax Topic 203 for more information about refund offsets.

Another reason your refund amount may be different is if we made changes to your tax return that changed your refund amount. In this case you will get a notice in the mail from us explaining the changes. These reasons will be reflected in Where’s My Refund if they apply to your refund..

 


102 replies

Level 2
March 11, 2020

Did you get all your refund back 

Level 15
March 11, 2020

If your refund was lower than the amount you were expecting, please refer to the website faq CassLO posted above. 

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Level 2
May 18, 2020

I received $670 less than my  federal return said I would receive,  and I  never received a letter explaining why I  got less

Level 2
March 18, 2020

Hi I just received my federal tax return and when i filed it said my federal return was $3,894 and I only received $2,126. Where did the other $1,723 of my return go? 

DoninGA
Level 15
Level 15
March 18, 2020

@Sicotte85 wrote:

Hi I just received my federal tax return and when i filed it said my federal return was $3,894 and I only received $2,126. Where did the other $1,723 of my return go? 


For the federal tax refund, go to this IRS website for federal tax refund FAQ's - https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions

 

Why is my refund different than the amount on the tax return I filed?
All or part of your refund may have been used (offset) to pay off past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, spousal support, or other federal nontax debts, such as student loans. To find out if you may have an offset or if you have questions about an offset, contact the agency to which you owe the debt.

We also may have changed your refund amount because we made changes to your tax return. You’ll get a notice explaining the changesWhere’s My Refund? will reflect the reasons for the refund offset when it relates to a change in your tax return.

Tax Topic 203 - Refund Offsets for Unpaid Child Support, Certain Federal and State Debts, and Unempl... has more information about refund offsets.

Level 2
March 20, 2020

I received Visa turbo card in the mail a week later the said I have a $11.20. Credited to my card I don't understand 

Level 2
March 28, 2020

What the hell are you doing? You want third-party to have full access to your tax refund? Big Big mistake... I would rather have the money in my hands, then buy myself an empty credit card to load some of my tax refund into... This is just bad... Right now, you have no idea where your money is and when and if you are ever going to see that money deposited into your credit card... Don't ever never do this. Always with anything that involves MONEY, if you have the option of direct depositing the money into your bank account, then do it. TurboTax always asked me if I wanted my tax refund in their Credit Card and I always declined. Nothing against TurboTax by the way... I love TurboTax Service, but it is just me. When it comes to money, I would rather do most or all of the dealings than give someone total access to my money and then expect it to be there for you when you need it. lol... I have very little trust when it comes MONEY...lol... I hope you get all of your money in your credit card soon... bye,

Level 2
May 18, 2020

I paid everything to the IRS and Turbotax,  it was all taken out , I was to receive $1,910 from  federal tax return and only received $1,234 that's $670 difference,  I  never received any letters from IRS stating I owe anything 

Level 2
March 6, 2021

neither did i after i filed they took 120 for Tax products even tho i choose free  file so i want my refund on this so called Tax product

 

my federsays refund daye of 3/5/2021 Well i didnt get nothing so fix ur **bleep** website or im calling corprate

Level 15
March 6, 2021

You can review your Turbo Tax fees by clicking here

 

If you had your fees deducted from your refund, when the Where's My Refund website shows the direct deposit date, it will be sent to Santa Barbara Bank for the fees to be deducted. 

 

Once the refund has been issue to Santa Barbara, you can check the status of your refund by clicking here

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Level 2
March 10, 2021

My refund deposit is exactly $600 less than what my return shows in Turbotax ($2452). Did I receive a portion in advance? When I looked up my info on the 'Where's My Refund Tool' on the IRS website it shows that my refund is still being processed and a refund date will be provided when available. Anyone having the same issue?

Level 2
March 11, 2021

Have you gotten a answer? Same thing happened to me 

Level 2
March 11, 2021

No answers yet. I did hear that the IRS is processing returns alot slower this year. I was thinking that the bank who issues the payments for Turbotax was giving a portion, an advance so to speak due to the fact that Turbotax informed me that I should receive my refund by 3/5/2021. Not sure????? 

Level 3
March 18, 2021

I received a letter stating that I owed back the RRC which I agree too. The notice stated if I agree no further action was required. However today I received a refund way less than expected and it was not what I agreed to via letter received regarding deducting RRC. So I called today and they agent could not tell me any more than the online status says which is that my return is being reviewed. However I received an email from Turbo tax today saying my refund is on it's way and should be deposited soon in addition to that small deposit. I don't understand what is going on. I have filed with TT for years as has my family for years and years and years. This is the FIRST year I or anyone in my family has had any problems. Can TT find out anything that I am not finding out from the IRS. I can not request a transcript because I don't have a major credit card and my bank account or debit card is not acceptable. PLEASE HELP!! 

Level 2
March 29, 2021

It was I believe from earn credit. Ypu said i was approved and they said no. So u need to reimburse me 600.00 plus40.00 when it was supposed to b free

Level 2
March 31, 2021

I did not receive my full refund and I had to pay to file my taxes. 

DoninGA
Level 15
Level 15
March 31, 2021

@catharinea40 wrote:

I did not receive my full refund and I had to pay to file my taxes. 


Paying the TurboTax account fees and receiving a tax refund have no relation to each other.

Did you receive the federal or state tax refund?  They come separately.

Did you request to have the TurboTax account fees paid from the federal tax refund?  The TurboTax fees and the $40 service charge for this option will be deducted from the federal tax refund before it is deposited.

 

Go to this IRS website for federal tax refund FAQ's - https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions

 

Why is my refund different than the amount on the tax return I filed? 

All or part of your refund may have been used (offset) to pay off past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, spousal support, or other federal nontax debts, such as student loans. To find out if you may have an offset or if you have questions about an offset, contact the agency to which you owe the debt.

We also may have changed your refund amount because we made changes to your tax return. This may include corrections to any incorrect Recovery Rebate Credit amount. You’ll get a notice explaining the changesWhere’s My Refund? will reflect the reasons for the refund offset when it relates to a change in your tax return.

Tax Topic 203, Refund Offsets for Unpaid Child Support, Certain Federal and State Debts, and Unemployment Compensation Debts has more information about refund offsets.

Level 2
April 5, 2021

Why is my refund only $322 when it was estimated at $932?

Level 15
April 5, 2021

@ randy Schliesman wrote:

Why is my refund only $322 when it was estimated at $932?


Are you expecting both Federal and state refunds?  If so, which one did you receive?  They come separately.  Do not go by any "total refund" amount that TurboTax shows you on a summary screen, which is a sum of the Federal and state refunds.   Look at the deposit descriptor in your bank/card account to see who sent the deposit. 

 

If the deposit descriptor says it's from a third-party company "Tax Products PE SBTPG" (or similar), that means you chose to pay TurboTax fees out of your Federal refund, and the deposit went through an intermediary bank first.  Of course, the fees and service charge for that option won't explain that degree of difference.

 

Or did you choose to get your deposit on a Turbo Visa Debit Card and had a refund advance that had to be paid back?

 

Also, if it's a Federal refund, look at your Form 1040, Line 35a to verify the refund amount that was originally submitted.

 

If the IRS reduced your refund, they should send a letter in about 3 weeks or so explaining why, and what your options are if you disagree.  You might get a clue now by looking at the IRS "Where's My Refund" tool to see if there is a message:

https://www.irs.gov/Refunds

Level 2
April 5, 2021

How do I contact turbotax about this?

DaveF1006
Level 15
April 5, 2021

It depends.  You would not report this to Turbo Tax. You need to contact IRS to see if there is a treasury offset.  Related Resources Treasury Offset Program Call Center 800-304-3107.

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