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I didn't receive my full federal refund

I will never use TURBO again You are so unhelpful

DMarkM1
Employee Tax Expert

I didn't receive my full federal refund

The Recovery Rebate Credit amount on line 30 is calculated based on information in your tax return.  The amount represents any stimulus payments from rounds one and/or two that you are eligible for but did not receive already. 

 

When completing your return, part of the "Federal Review" interview asks if you received any stimulus payments and if so how much.  Any missing amounts were added to your tax return as a Recovery Rebate Credit.

 

Here is a link with more information on the credit.

 

Since the IRS changed your refund, you will get letter explaining those changes.  Check questions G8-G11 in the link provided above for more information on what to expect in your letter.

  

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I didn't receive my full federal refund


@Chalenger7 wrote:

I will never use TURBO again You are so unhelpful


You have never asked a question or described a problem you are having.   We cannot help if there is no information to go on.

Indianden
New Member

I didn't receive my full federal refund

I did not get my full refund from the our IRS

I didn't receive my full federal refund

@Indianden

 

Did you enter  ALL of the stimulus money that you had already received correctly in the recovery rebate credit section when you prepared your 2020 return?  The IRS cross checks and if you did not enter all of the money you received, they recalculate your refund.

 

 

MY REFUND WAS LESS THAN I EXPECTED

There can be a number of reasons why your refund was less than the amount you expected. First of all, look carefully at your actual tax returns.  There is sometimes confusion about the amount of refund to expect when users misinterpret the “summary” they saw in TurboTax. The amount of your refund is on your tax return.  Federal refund is on line 34 on Form 1040  State tax forms are all different so we cannot tell you what line to look at on your state form.  BUT it is important to actually LOOK at your tax return forms yourself and see the amounts of your tax refunds and/or tax due.  A lot of confusion would be avoided by doing that.

 

TurboTax does not receive feedback from the IRS regarding money that was offset from your refund.  If you owed back taxes, child support, student loan debt, etc. you will receive a letter of explanation from the IRS in several weeks.  The WMR site will contain a message regarding your offset.  It is also possible that the IRS caught a mistake you made and reduced your refund. 

 

A possible reason for the reduction could be that the recovery rebate credit was completed incorrectly and you may have entered the amount of stimulus already received wrong, which could have reduced the refund you thought you were seeing.

 

 

 It is also possible that your state reduced your refund for debts owed in your state—if the state reduced your state refund you will receive a letter from the state.

 

https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-refund-offsets-pay-unpaid-debts

 IRS Treasury Offset Program Call Center at 1-800-304-3107

 

Be aware also that your Federal refund and state refund do NOT come together.  Federal and state tax returns are processed by two completely separate entities.  There is no rule as to which one will come first,

 

Did you choose to have TT fees deducted from your Federal refund?  (Remember that if you did that, you also agreed to an extra refund processing fee of $39.99)

How can I see my TurboTax  fees?   

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2565973-how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online

 

 

 https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-refund-offsets-pay-unpaid-debts

 

 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refunds/help/what-is-a-refund-offset/00/26301

 

Reduced Refund      https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc203

 

 

 NOTE: You can contact the IRS Treasury Offset Program Call Center at 1-800-304-3107 to ask if they have an offset for you on file. TurboTax would not have that information.

 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-payments/who-can-garnish-an-income-tax-refund/L7cPPzDyc

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
andrewbax
New Member

I didn't receive my full federal refund

I had the same thing happen to me. Turbo tax calculated amount was first accepted then the IRS reduced my return by $500. Turbo tax needs to address this issue and compensation needs to be dispersed. 

I didn't receive my full federal refund


@ Bibiz562  wrote:

I received $600 less than expected aswell. Snd I don't owe any back taxes. Seems like alot of people are having the same issue.


$600 happens to be the amount of the second stimulus payment (EIP2) for a single filer.   So maybe it's related to that.  Did you claim a Recovery Rebate Credit of $600 on your return when you had already been paid for a $600 stimulus payment?  Or perhaps received a $600 stimulus payment soon after filing your return in which you claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit?     Is there a Recovery Rebate Credit figure reported on your Form 1040, Line 30?  

 

The IRS should send a letter in about 3 weeks or so explaining why they reduced your Federal refund, and if you disagree, what your options are.

I didn't receive my full federal refund

I agree 100%. They shorted me $600 as I did the free version on Turbo Tax and the IRS approved almost immediately. They after a couple months I get a deposit of $600 less?? I was told that neither stimulus payment would affect that sum and now there telling me they can deduct one of the stimulus payments if I received both. This is wrong and very corrupt to do this. I want answers and I want my money. I owe no one anything. 

I didn't receive my full federal refund


@snuffyll96 wrote:

I agree 100%. They shorted me $600 as I did the free version on Turbo Tax and the IRS approved almost immediately. They after a couple months I get a deposit of $600 less?? I was told that neither stimulus payment would affect that sum and now there telling me they can deduct one of the stimulus payments if I received both. This is wrong and very corrupt to do this. I want answers and I want my money. I owe no one anything. 


"The IRS approved almost immediately."

You likely are referring to your efile status after efiling; i.e., that your efiled return was "accepted."  That is not the same as "approved."  An efile status of "accepted" soon after efiling means the IRS has agreed to start processing the return.   It sounds like your return took a couple of months to be approved, and that the IRS may have lowered the refund amount by $600.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/return-status/help/does-accepted-mean-my-refund-is-approved/01/265...

 

If the IRS lowered your refund amount, you should get a letter in about 3 weeks or so explaining why and what options you have if you disagree.  $600 happens to be the amount of the second stimulus payment for a single filer (EIP2).   On your 2020 return did you claim the Recovery Recovery Rebate credit of $600 when you had already received a second stimulus prior to filing?   Or did you receive a separate stimulus payment (EIP2) soon after filing and before your return had been fully processed in which you claimed the $600 credit?   If you claimed the Recovery Rebate Credit on your return, you'll see a figure on your Form 1040, Line 30.  

 

Also check the IRS WMR tool, since sometimes they leave a message there when they change a refund amount:

https://www.irs.gov/refunds

 

If you want to speak to the IRS before your letter arrives, you can try to reach a live agent, but it may be difficult due to pandemic-related staff shortages, busy tax season, increased duties related to stimulus payments, etc.

 

IRS:  800-829-1040 (7AM-7 PM local time) Monday-Friday

 

When calling the IRS do not choose the first choice re: "Refund", or it will send you to an automated phone line.

  • First choose your language.  Then listen to each menu before making the selection.
  • Then press 2 for "personal income tax".
  • Then press 1 for "form, tax history, or payment".  
  • Then press 3 "for all other questions."
  • Then press 2 "for all other questions." 
  • It may then ask for your SSN, but do not enter it.  Just wait.    If it asks for SSN a second time, still do not enter it.
  • Then it will get "tired", and you'll get another menu.  Choose 2 for "personal".
  • Then in the next menu choose 4 for "all other inquiries", and it should transfer you to an agent but expect a long wait.
  • I usually use a speakerphone so I can work on something else while waiting.
Dreamer3
Returning Member

I didn't receive my full federal refund

I had same situation as you. I never got a letter of explaination of the decrease. When I called IRS they said the form they have shows the lesser amount not the Turbo Tax form I submitted.

bbztax
Returning Member

I didn't receive my full federal refund

This is the 6th Month after both Federal and California Tax Return was accepted March 10. 2021.  I opted  TO PAY You (Turbo Tax) taken from both Income Tax Returns.   California Franchise Confirmed my Refund was done March 12, 2021 and Federal Tax Return Refund was March 31, 2021.  Both was not received as a Direct Deposit with my Bank, Golden 1 Credit Union.

If Turbo Tax was suppose  to take your Fees  ......WHY haven't I got the Net Proceeds.

 

Thank you

Caesar Zosa (User ID: bbztx / SSN - - -  - -  7703)

 

I didn't receive my full federal refund

@bbztax There are a LOT of delays for federal refunds.  State refunds come from a completely separate entitity.

 

  The IRS is backlogged —-they are still trying to process millions of 2019 returns; they received millions of e-files on the day they opened for 2020 returns, and now they are burdened with sending out another round of stimulus checks.   Congress changed the tax laws in the middle of the tax season so millions of returns need to be recalculated; and now on top of all that,  they have had to gear up to make monthly child tax credit payments.

 

 

Some delays are resulting from incorrect amounts that folks entered for stimulus checks they received.   Many people have been confused by the recovery rebate credit and completed it incorrectly.  The IRS may delay your refund while they cross-check to see what you received.  Some refunds are delayed because of the tax law changes that went into effect recently.   If your return has unemployment or the premium tax credit on it, that may be delaying it.

 

 

You did not  ---  and could not have --   opted to pay TurboTax from "both" of your refunds.   You can only choose to pay TurboTax from a federal refund--not from your state refund.   If that federal refund is late, the agreement you signed allows TT to deduct the fees from your account.

 

Did you choose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your federal refund?  Is your refund taking an unusually long time to arrive?  Or was your refund seized to pay a debt you owed? if so, you signed an agreement that says TT can withdraw its fees from your account.  TurboTax would have sent several emails to you before they took the money out of your account.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901364-why-was-my-bank-account-auto-debited-for-turbotax-fees

 

 

Turbo Tax says......

We understand that these are unprecedented times and we’re committed to helping our customers who are experiencing hardships. If you’re in need of assistance, call us by the Tuesday prior to your debit date at 1-888-808-1723 to speak with a trained specialist and mention “auto-debit”, or visit TurboTax Support.

 

 

 

 

Once your federal return has been accepted by the IRS, only the IRS has any control.  TurboTax does not receive any updates from the IRS. Your ONLY source of information about your refund now is the IRS.

You need your filing status, your Social Security number and the exact amount  (line 35a of your 2020 Form 1040) of your federal refund to track your Federal refund:   

https://www.irs.gov/refunds

To track your state refund:    

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899433-how-do-i-track-my-state-refund

 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901548-why-do-some-refunds-take-longer-than-others

 

 

 

From this IRS website - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-operations-during-covid-19-mission-critical-functions-continue

 

 

 

The IRS is opening mail within normal timeframes and all paper and electronic individual returns received prior to April 2021 have been processed if the return had no errors or did not require further review. As of July 31, 2021, we had 13.8 million unprocessed individual returns. Unprocessed individual returns include tax year 2020 returns such as those requiring correction to the Recovery Rebate Credit amount or validation of 2019 income used to figure the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). This work does not require us to correspond with taxpayers but does require special handling by an IRS employee so, in these instances, it is taking the IRS more than 21 days to issue any related refund and in some cases this work could take 90 to 120 days. If, as a result, a correction is made to any RRC, EITC or ACTC claimed on the return, the IRS will send taxpayers an explanation. Taxpayers are encouraged to continue to check Where’s My Refund? for their personalized refund status and can review Tax Season Refund Frequently Asked Questions.

How long you may have to wait: The IRS understands the importance of timely processing of tax returns and refund issuance. We have processed all error free returns received prior to April 2021 and continue to work the returns that need to be manually reviewed due to errors.  We are continuing to reroute tax returns and taxpayer correspondence from locations that are behind to locations where more staff is available, and we are taking other actions to minimize any delays. Tax returns are opened and processed in the order received. As the return is processed, whether it was filed electronically or on paper,  it may be delayed because it has a mistake including errors concerning the Recovery Rebate Credit, is missing information, or there is suspected identity theft or fraud. If we can fix it without contacting you, we will. If we need more information or need you to verify that it was you who sent the tax return, we will write you a letter. The resolution of these issues could take 90 to 120 days depending on how quickly and accurately you respond, and the ability of IRS staff trained and working under social distancing requirements to complete the processing of your return.

What you should do: In most instances, no further action is needed but you may check Where’s my refund or you can view your account. If you filed electronically and received an acknowledgement, you do not need to take any further action other than promptly responding to any requests for information. If you filed on paper, check Where’s my refund? If it tells you we have received your return or are processing or reviewing it, we are processing your return, but it may be under review. We’re working hard to get through the backlog. Please don’t file a second tax return or contact the IRS about the status of your return.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

I didn't receive my full federal refund

If your efile was accepted back in March and you haven't got the federal refund yet then Turbo Tax should have emailed you you pay the fees instead of waiting for the IRS to send the refund. 

So if they haven't asked you to pay yet means either your efiles were not accepted or the IRS sent your refund but to another account.  Better double check your bank account on your return.  Did you import any brokerage 1099 info?   That could have changed the Direct Deposit info.

 

Double check your efile status here     

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/efile-status-lookup/   

 

 

 

 

gran1
Returning Member

I didn't receive my full federal refund

Me too - so now I am going to a tax preparer - won't be using turbotax again

I didn't receive my full federal refund

@gran1 More than 130 users have posts in this thread, so we do not know what you are saying "me too" about.   If you could be more specific we might be able to help.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
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