Santa Barbara Tax Products Group- Holding Tax Refund and Will not respond

[MaJenn79]

Ha! ha! What a joke! I don't even know why they even havea phone number. And as far as submitting a ticket, I've submitted three over a months time and haven't received one reply!! Don't even waste your time with this

[Habiba nur]

Hello this is habiba nur I want to know how what happened to my taxes Refound 

[careerwoman46]

Totally pissed off.  I amended my taxes last year.   The IRS sent my money   I would not call Turbotax They playing mind games.  Turbotax and Santa Barbara Tax Products Group should be ashamed allegedly stealing people refunds.  If the IRS says they sent it they sent it.  They have no reason to lie.  I check where my amended refund app it says it was sent.  The proper authorities will investigate.  I cant believe some people are willing to lose their freedom over allegedly stealing people refunds.  

I thought Turbotax was a descent tax preparer.  

This is so sad.  

[xmasbaby0]

@careerwoman46 When you receive a refund from an amended tax return, the IRS will only mail a check directly to you, using the address on your tax return.   Your refund from an amended return does not go through the third party bank at all.

Even during “normal” times it takes about four months for the IRS to process an amended return.  During the pandemic and due to the severe backlog at the IRS it is taking much longer—six months or much longer for many amended returns.  Do not expect quick results from amending.  When the IRS issues a refund for an amended return it will be by check.  They do not make direct deposits for refunds for amended returns.  You can watch for information here:

https://www.irs.gov/Filing/Individuals/Amended-Returns-(Form-1040-X)/Wheres-My-Amended-Return-1

[careerwoman46]

I spoke with a IRS representative she stated my refund was direct deposit into Turb Tax/ SBTPG account it shows on where my amended refund 

Plus 3 reps from SBTPG gave 3 different stories 

I believe the IRS

The will trace where my refund when since my routing & account number was replaced TurboTax/SBTPG  account 

[careerwoman46]

You re right 

The IRS sent most of our refunds to a third party Someone switch out my banking info with the third party s account The IRS is looking into this since alot of people are upset about not getting their refunds.  This is ridiculous I will go to a descent tax preparer in the future 

[DoninGA]

@careerwoman46 You posted "I amended my taxes last year. "

What do You mean by amending a return?  Per the IRS you amend a federal tax return after the original tax return has been filed and accepted by the IRS.  Amending the federal tax return changes the information on the original tax return.

To amend a federal tax return you have to file a Form 1040-X.  If you filed a Form 1040-X Amended Tax Return and there was a refund on the amended return, the IRS will Only send a refund check to the address on the amended return.  The IRS does not direct deposit refunds from an amended return.

See this IRS website for amended tax return FAQ's - https://www.irs.gov/filing/amended-return-frequently-asked-questions

Is direct deposit available for electronically filed Form 1040-X?

Direct deposits are not allowed at this time for Amended Returns.

For your original tax return that was filed and accepted by the IRS - 

TurboTax does not receive any kind of tax refund, federal or state.

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
On this page you can also scroll down and click on Submit a request

Or https://taxpayer.sbtpg.com/

Call 1-877-908-7228

[xmasbaby0]

@careerwoman46 You may be confused about what you actually did.   If you really amended your tax return using a Form 1040X then the only method the IRS would use to send your refund would be a mailed check. 

Your ORIGINAL tax return--your Form 1040--- may have been prepared and filed with your request to use "refund processing" in order to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your federal refund.   In that situation, the refund is first received by the third party bank.   Then the third party bank extracts your TurboTax fees and sends the rest of the refund to you.

The third party bank is in no way way involved with amended returns.    When you correctly prepare and file an amended federal return, that amended return goes directly to the IRS and only the IRS in involved in processing it and issuing a check for the refund.

Santa Barbara Tax Products Group, LLC  (SBTPG) is the bank that handles the Refund Processing Service when you choose to have your TurboTax fees deducted from your refund. This option also has an additional charge from the bank that processes the transaction. 

You can contact them SBTPG, toll-free, at 1-877-908-7228 or go to their secure website www.sbtpg.com 

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2580357-who-provides-the-refund-processing-service

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refunds/help/who-provides-pay-with-my-refund/00/26410

[careerwoman46]

I am not going to explain anything to anyone I was told that the IRS directly deposited my funds to the third party 

I'm not confused 

Maybe you are

[DevanStoglin]

I've been dealing with the same issues. They have been holding my tax return since April. They said it was returned to them. I was on the phone with the worker and she told me that it had just been returned to them but they are going to send it back to the IRS I asked her why would you do that and I can give my correct address. I asked her why would they even mail it to an address that I have not lived at for over three years. She said we don't do that, and I would have to get it from the IRS. This was in April. It is now August, I was informed that they are sent out in batches and I need to call every 30 days. I informed them that it appears that you all are scamming people out of their refunds. I will no longer do business with TurboTax. I contacted them and they basically informed me that it was something that I had to work out with the Tax Product Group. I informed them that I used Turbo Tax service so they have a responsibility to me as a customer to ensure I receive my return. 

[NCperson]

@careerwoman46 @DevanStoglin - 

can I make a suggestion?

SBTPG is a subsidiary of Green Dot Bank.  

Your refund is being deposited into a Green Dot Bank bank account and then withdrawn from that bank account and forwarded to YOUR bank (net of the fees that are due to Turbo Tax).

That means that the transaction is regulated by Green Dot Bank's regulators: the OCC and the CFPB.  

I would suggest that an effective way to bring up the issues you are having is to complain to the OCC and the CFPB.  If there are enough complaints, these two regulatory organizations will take notice. 

this is the complaint form for the OCC (note that the name of the bank is "Green Dot" be sure to use the space between the two words)

https://appsec.helpwithmybank.gov/olcc_form/ 

for the CFPB: 

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

[careerwoman46]

That's okay 

The IRS will investigate where my refund went.  I don't know how my bank account got switched to theirs.  If I don't get my federal and state refund I will go to the proper authorities  

This is terrible 

I will file my taxes with someone else 

[DoninGA]

@careerwoman46 Only the federal tax refund would have been sent to the third party processor by the IRS if you requested to have the TurboTax account fees paid from the federal tax refund.

Any state tax refund will be processed by your state and sent to you based on what you entered on your state tax return.  State tax refunds are Never sent to a third party processor.

Use this TurboTax support FAQ to check the state tax refund status - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899433-how-do-i-track-my-state-refund

[barajasaraceli]

I only received partial payment of what the IRS said I was going to receive. Where do we call to see what happen to the other partial? 

[xmasbaby0]

@barajasaraceli  You received part of the refund you saw on TurboTax---or part of the amount that the IRS said they sent?   Those are not necessarily the same thing.   The IRS may have reduced the refund you had on your tax form if you had some sort of mistake they corrected.

TurboTax does not get any information from the IRS after you file your tax return, so no one at TT knows why your refund was less.

You have not mentioned any specific amounts.  Sometimes we can make an educated guess as to the reason for your reduced refund if you mention specific amounts--for example if your refund was short by $1400 per person---it is likely to be a mix up regarding the 3rd EIP payment.    If you received the 3rd stimulus check of $1400 per person in 2021 then you got letter 6475 from the IRS about it.   You needed to enter the amount you received.   If you already received that money then line 30 on your Form 1040 should have been blank.

  If it is short by $1800 or  $1500 or  a multiple of that amount  ---   maybe a mixup regarding the advance child tax credit payments. If you received monthly child tax credit payments of $250 or $300 per month between July and December of 2021, then you got letter 6419 from the IRS, and you were required to enter the amount of the advance payments.   Only the remaining amount of the CTC should have been on line 28 of your Form 1040.

The IRS knows how much they sent to you for the 3rd stimulus check and they know how much they sent for advance child tax credit payments.   If you answered something incorrectly on your tax return then the IRS made a correction that resulted in a reduced refund for you. 

 Or---the fees you were supposed to pay for using TurboTax + the "refund processing fee" charged by the third party bank….

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 or $44.99 in CA)

How can I see my TurboTax  fees?   

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

What is Refund Processing Service?

The IRS will send you a letter that explains why your refund was reduced or why you owe more.   Meanwhile it might help you to check your online IRS account.

https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account