I received my refund, but it was a different amount than what I filed. How do I find out why?

[mesquitebean]

@ jsabeh2  asked:  "I received my refund, but it was a different amount than what I filed. How do I find out why?"

The Federal refund amount you submitted should be shown on your Form 1040, Line 35a. 

Does "different amount" mean it was more than you expected or less than you expected?

In the interest of time, the rest of this answer assumes you received less than expected. 

First of all, did you have any TurboTax fees that you chose to pay out of your Federal refund?  If so, then in addition to the subtracted fees, there is a $40 service fee ($45 for California filers) plus possible sales tax.

Another possibility:

Did you prepare both Federal and state returns, and if so, did both have refunds?    If so, be sure which refund you received.  The Federal and state refunds come separately.    Do not go by any total refund amount or net refund amount that TurboTax shows you in your account that adds the Federal and state together.

If neither of those things explains it, then if the IRS reduced your Federal refund, they will mail you a postal letter in 3 weeks or so explaining why.   You might check the IRS WMR tool to see if there is any message there, such as any offset:

https://www.irs.gov/Refunds

[mesquitebean]

First of all, did you have any TurboTax fees that you chose to pay out of your Federal refund?  If so, then in addition to the subtracted fees, there is a $40 service fee ($45 for California filers) plus possible sales tax.

Another possibility:

Did you prepare both Federal and state returns, and if so, did both have refunds?    If so, be sure which refund you received.  The Federal and state refunds come separately.    Do not go by any total refund amount or net refund amount that TurboTax shows you in your account that adds the Federal and state together.

If neither of those things explains it, then if the IRS reduced your Federal refund, they will mail you a postal letter in 3 weeks or so explaining why.   You might check the IRS WMR tool to see if there is any message there, such as any offset:

https://www.irs.gov/Refunds

[jsabeh2]

thank you for your response.  I contacted my bank as a check and discovered that there had been other calls saying that people using turbo tax had also received less money than was shown on their returns.  Plus, according to IRS, the amount shown on their refund tool matches what I filed. As a matter of fact, they don't even show that my return has actually been processed yet -- but I did receive a refund in my account already. 

[mesquitebean]

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@ jsabeh2 wrote:

thank you for your response.  I contacted my bank as a check and discovered that there had been other calls saying that people using turbo tax had also received less money than was shown on their returns.  Plus, according to IRS, the amount shown on their refund tool matches what I filed. As a matter of fact, they don't even show that my return has actually been processed yet -- but I did receive a refund in my account already. 

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Are you sure it's a Federal refund you received and not a state refund (if applicable?)    Was it from the IRS/US Treasury?

You didn't answer either of the questions I asked in my comment above, including whether or not you paid any TurboTax fees out of your Federal refund.

In any case, see this FAQ for reasons that your refund may be less than shown on your Federal return:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refunds/help/why-is-my-direct-deposited-refund-or-check-lower-than...

If it was the IRS that reduced your refund, they should send you a letter in 3 weeks or so.  Or you can phone them to find out why.

[jsabeh2]

I'm sure it was my federal return, I did get my fee deducted out of my return (the difference in amount versus what was filed is way over that small fee amount).  The IRS website does not show that there was a difference in my return or any offset being applied when I go under the refund tracker (thank you for the links). Is there somewhere I can see more specific details? 

[mesquitebean]

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@ jsabeh2 wrote:

I'm sure it was my federal return, I did get my fee deducted out of my return (the difference in amount versus what was filed is way over that small fee amount).  The IRS website does not show that there was a difference in my return or any offset being applied when I go under the refund tracker (thank you for the links). Is there somewhere I can see more specific details? 

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 Also, are you sure it was a tax refund and not a Federal stimulus payment?

When you choose to pay the TurboTax fees out of your Federal refund, that process uses an intermediary bank that receives the refund from the IRS in a temporary account in your name, subtracts the fees plus the extra $40-45 service fee, then sends the rest to you.   The third-party company that handles that is SBTPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group.)   So if you paid fees by that method, your Federal refund deposit would show in your bank account as coming from a company called SBTPG, or Tax Products Group.  The deposit in your bank account would not be from the IRS or US Treasury.    Check the description of the deposit in your bank account.

You could log into your temporary account at SBTPG, and it may have info there on the amount they received from the IRS and how much they subtracted for fees before sending it on to you.

To log in, choose the taxpayer portal at this link, then choose "Check with TPG."
https://www.sbtpg.com/

If it turns out the IRS lowered your refund amount, then you'd have to wait on a letter or phone them to ask. 

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.

[Killa17]

This direction for reaching a live person at IRS was perfect

worked like a charm

thanks

[mesquitebean]

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@Killa17 wrote:

This direction for reaching a live person at IRS was perfect

worked like a charm

thanks

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You're welcome.  Good luck.