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Returning Member
posted Mar 23, 2022 5:53:58 AM

Refund discrepancy

Good morning, I'm wondering if I can get some insight into why my federal refund deposit is drastically different than what we should have received.  Here are the details:

 

- Turbo Tax refund amount shown: $3940

- IRS refund amount shown: $2605

- Difference from Turbo Tax to IRS amount : $1335

 - Amount deposited: $1134

- Difference from IRS amount to actual deposit: $1471

- Amount shown on line 30 : $0

 

- I know we owed around $900 to the state from past years, and in the past they have deducted that amount from our federal return and sent it to the state.  That was acceptable to me. 

- We filed that we had already received all of our stimulus payments and all of our child tax credit payments as noted on the letters we received from the federal government. 

- When we checked the IRS website, we had no outstanding balance with them for past filings, so that's not it.

- I understand that $160 (ish) is deducted because that is how we ended up paying to file, but we are still short a LOT of money. 

 

Can someone help me understand where that money may have gone or who I can contact?

0 7 1150
7 Replies
Intuit Alumni
Mar 23, 2022 7:17:43 AM

In this public forum, we cannot diagnose why your refund has been reduced.  For additional information, please see this TurboTax help article: Why is my refund direct-deposit or check lower than the amount in TurboTax?

Returning Member
Mar 23, 2022 7:26:34 AM

Nothing Intuit has provided has helped.  I have read all the articles and called your support number, only to be told to contact the IRS.  The IRS shows that I should be refunded $2605 with no offsets.  I'm on hold with TPG right now, but I'm not hopeful.  It's clear to me that once your product has been used and your fee has been collected, Intuit has zero interest in helping customers resolve this obviously pervasive issue.  We thought that by using your service we would get support if there were any issues, but we have received ZERO help and ZERO answers.

 

We have used Intuit for the last 13 years, but this is the last year we will be using your product.

New Member
Mar 23, 2022 7:28:47 AM

why did my LOWERED come fromTPG instead of IRS? and when can I expect the remainder of my refund? I received exactly half!! 

Returning Member
Mar 23, 2022 8:06:22 AM

Update: I called Intuit and they told me I had to contact the IRS to check to see if there were any offsets. 

 

I called and all information available said we had no offsets under both my and my husband's SSNs.  I'm trying to log in online to verify but having no luck under my SSN.  My husband's SSN says there are no debts owed.

 

I'm currently on hold with TPG for the last 46 minutes with no contact with any human yet.

Returning Member
Mar 23, 2022 8:34:53 AM

Update: spent 1 hour and 10 minutes on hold waiting for a person to answer at TPG.  Finally got through to someone, and gave her my name.  Then, dead air.  Then disconnected.  Calling Intuit back.

New Member
Mar 30, 2022 7:32:36 AM

IRS notice Adjuested refund :$1800.00 

Turbotax calculate refund $6000.00  ?

Employee Tax Expert
Mar 30, 2022 7:43:35 AM

You should receive a letter from the IRS telling you why your refund amount was changed.  The most common reasons so far this season are:

  1. You did not enter that you received the stimulus payment in TurboTax, so your return said you were getting the money back, but the IRS caught it and said, no, you already received it.
    • If you look at line 30 of your 1040 and it shows an amount there, and you already received the $1,400 per person last year when they sent out the stimulus payments, this is likely the reason.  Since you are missing $4,200 if you have 3 people on your return, this is the most likely reason. 
    • If you do not remember getting the stimulus payments you can go back through your back records to double check.  Many people either didn't realize they did receive it or they forgot, but end up seeing it when they go back through their records. 
    • The Recovery Rebate is ONLY for those who did not get the Third Stimulus Payment
  2. You did not report the full amount of your Advanced Payments for the Child Tax Credit that you already received.  Again, the IRS will catch this and make the changes to your return. 
    • ​​​​​​​This would show on line 28 of your return. If you have 2 kids and you see $6,000 on line 28 then the IRS records show that you already received $3,000 in Advanced Child Tax Payments, but you entered that you did not receive any.  
    • Again, if you do not remember getting these payments you can go back through your bank records from July-December.

 

A couple other reasons include

  1. You owed back taxes, child support, student loans or something else that caused your refund to be Offset to pay some of the past due debt. You should have received a letter if this was the case.
  2. Something was not reported correctly on your return and the IRS recalculated your return causing you not to have a refund. This could include things such as missing income or inaccurately reported income (ex. you entered $5,500 for your W2 box 1 instead of $15,500)

 

You should look for a letter from the IRS and if you do not have one or do not receive one, you would need to call the IRS at 800-829-1040 as no one else would have the answer as to why your refund was reduced.