I received a direct deposit from Tax Products PE1 and believe it to be my federal tax return but it is a different amount than what I expected?

[WillK]

If the amount your received is different that what you were expecting you will need to call the IRS and speak to a tax specialist. For security reasons the IRS and states do not share the refund information with Turbo Tax once the returns are submitted. 

[sdtangler]

I can see the adjusted amount of my refund on the IRS 'where's my refund' page.  It differs from the amount deposited to my account by over $4k.  What is my next step?  I'm not content to wait.

[xmasbaby0]

@sdtangler 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 line 20 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.

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

To call the IRS:IRS:  800-829-1040  hours 7 AM - 7 PM local time Mon-Fri

Listen to each menu before making the selection.

First choose your language. Press 1 for English.

Then do NOT choose the first choice re: "Refund", or it will send you to an automated phone line.

Instead, 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 should then transfer you to an agent.

[sdtangler]

Thank you for the quick, yet unhelpful, response.  The IRS refund status page shows the exact ADJUSTED amount of my refund.  That amount is ~ $4.4k.

The amount deposited to my bank account is $409.  

What entity deposited that money into my account?  They're off by $3,900.  I want to contact them.

Thank you.

[xmasbaby0]

@sdtangler TurboTax receives no information from the IRS after you file your return.  The reply you received has a number you can use to call the IRS yourself.  Sorry you do not think that was helpful.  TurboTax cannot legally intercede with the IRS for you.  You now have to deal with the IRS yourself.

[sdtangler]

Looking over the comments from prior years, it appears that a 3rd party bank was responsible for receiving money from the IRS and depositing that money to a taxpayers' account.  Previously, that bank was a bank in Santa Barbara.  Intuit provided that contact information to other customers with this problem.  Is that still the bank being used for refund deposits?  I shouldn't know more than you do about this.

[DoninGA]

@sdtangler 

If you requested to have the TurboTax account fees deducted from your federal tax refund, the IRS will send the refund to a third party processor to have the fees and the service charge deducted. The third party processor will deduct the TurboTax fees plus the service charge and then attempt to direct deposit the remaining refund balance into the account that you entered on your tax return.

For the status of your tax refund you will need to contact the third party processor, Santa Barbara Tax Product Group, using their website - https://www.sbtpg.com/

Tax Products Group Contact Information - https://help.sbtpg.com/hc/en-us/articles/230084587-Contact-Information