Can the IRS deposit less federal return than TurboTax calculated - my return was shorted $600 and I don't know why?

[VolvoGirl]

Yes they do it all the time.  Was there $600 on 1040 line 30 for the Recovery Rebate Credit?  That was for the 2nd Stimulus check.   The IRS has been adjusting returns that claimed it but the IRS already sent it.  Did you get it after you filed?  

[xmasbaby0]

Yes---the IRS can reduce your refund if it finds a mistake.   Exactly $600 sounds like a stimulus check mix up.

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

[tonilippman]

Yes! I just checked and there is $600.00 listed on 1040 line 30. I received that 2nd stimulus a month and a half before filing. Did I do something incorrectly by listing $600 on that line?

[VolvoGirl]

Yes that was wrong but it's ok.  You must have forgot to enter the second round 600 into the 2nd box on the screen.  So you tried to get it again.

[Berkshiregirl]

Yes!  I had it listed on line 30 of my 1040 form, but I  didn't receive it until January 4th of this year.  Is that why the IRS deducted it from my refund?

[DoninGA]

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@Berkshiregirl wrote:

Yes!  I had it listed on line 30 of my 1040 form, but I  didn't receive it until January 4th of this year.  Is that why the IRS deducted it from my refund?

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Yes, that is why.  You received the second stimulus payment so the IRS adjusted your tax return and removed the credit from your federal tax refund.

[Critter-3]

YES ... both the first and second stimulus check amounts HAD to be entered in the program EVEN if you got it in 2021 so this is a user entry error ... read that screen again ...

[grannycarol1947]

Yes!  They took forever to process my return e-filed with 

Turbo Tax!  Then my refund was shorted by the $600.00

[Critter-3]

The IRS says you did get the $600 stimulus payment   so you cannot have it as a credit on the 2020 return form 1040 line 30.   

If you disagree  then have them put a trace on the missing payment ... 

Go to this IRS website for information on initiating a trace if you never received a stimulus payment - https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/questions-and-answers-about-the-first-economic-impact-payment-topic-f-p...