If the amount you received was less than what your tax return stated you would be receiving (after TurboTax fees), there are two things that could have happened. Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing exactly why it was adjusted right now, but in either scenario, you will receive a letter within a few weeks with an explanation. There will also be a number that you call to get further information from them.
1.) They made changes to your tax return. If they changed something which altered the amount of your refund, you will receive a letter from them within the next few weeks with an explanation as to why this change was made.
2.) It was determined that there was a balance owed somewhere else and your refund was partially taken to pay the amount owed. In this case, you will also receive a letter that contains detailed information of what this offset was for as well as contact information for the agency that received the payment.
Please see the article below for more information about refund offsets.
The Department of Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS) issues IRS tax refunds and Congress authorizes BFS to conduct the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Through the TOP program, BFS may reduce your refund (overpayment) and offset it to pay:
- Past-due child support;
- Federal agency non-tax debts;
- State income tax obligations; or
- Certain unemployment compensation debts owed to a state (generally, these are debts for (1) compensation paid due to fraud, or (2) contributions owing to a state fund that weren't paid).
You can contact the agency with which you have a debt to determine if your debt was submitted for a tax refund offset. You may call BFS's TOP call center at the number below for an agency address and phone number. If your debt meets submission criteria for offset, BFS will reduce your refund as needed to pay off the debt you owe to the agency. Any portion of your remaining refund after offset is issued in a check or direct deposited as originally requested on the return.
BFS will send you a notice if an offset occurs. The notice will reflect the original refund amount, your offset amount, the agency receiving the payment, and the address and telephone number of the agency. BFS will notify the IRS of the amount taken from your refund once your refund date has passed. You should contact the agency shown on the notice if you believe you don't owe the debt or if you're disputing the amount taken from your refund. If you don't receive a notice:
- Contact the BFS's TOP call center at 800-304-3107 (or TTY/TDD 866-297-0517), Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.
- Contact the IRS only if your original refund amount shown on the BFS offset notice differs from the refund amount shown on your tax return.
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc203
