Turbotax provided inaccurate refund for paid service

[joebiggins]

Hello,

I filled my taxes with Turbotax, as I do every year. I paid for the service for the second year in a row. This year, I was told my refund would be a combined $3,481--$1,661 Federal and $1,820 state.

I spent hours working through filling, searching through personal records, and the like in an effort to maximize my refund. 

I received a combined refund of $1624.00. From that, $1504.00 was Federal and $120.00 from State. Now, I understand it's not a perfect science, so I understand receiving a Federal refund of $1504.00 rather than the $1,661.00 I was told.

But, I absolutely am at a loss for receiving $120.00 while being told I would receive $1,820 for State. 

I think my frustration is justifiable. I paid for the service in order to maximize my refund. It's arguable, taking into the cost of the service into account, that paying for the service was a net loss than what I would've received otherwise.

In some respects, it feels I was sold a lie. If Turbotax had been stated, in VERY obvious messages, that estimation could be dramatically different in some cases, and that Turbotax does not claim to be an accurate, I would've considered the worth of paying.

I'm extremely disappointed. I liked Turbotax, but I feel as if I was mislead to the effectiveness and quality of the services.

All that said, I'd like to know if Turbotax will be willing to cover 75% of the difference between what I was told and what I received? If not, I'm afraid I'll have to find a better partner for my future finances.

[VolvoGirl]

If the state adjusted your return and refund they will mail you a letter explaining why.  Turbo Tax is a self prepared return.  It has no way of knowing or checking that you entered something wrong or in the wrong place or entered something twice  Or left something out.  It doesn't check against any outside sources.  The IRS has copies of all the W2s and 1099s your employer and banks/brokers, etc. sent in to match against.  Turbo Tax only checks the calculations of what you entered.   It is your responsibility to check it over before you file.  They only Guarantee that the calculations are right based on the entries you made.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/what-is-the-turbotax-100-accurate-calculatio...

[VolvoGirl]

Look over your state return.  Should be easy to spot a $1,700 entry.  Check the state withholding and estimated payments or payment made with an extension to file.  What state?  

[VolvoGirl]

For federal....did you have the fees deducted from your federal refund?  $160 would be the fees for Deluxe federal and state plus the Extra $40 Refund Processing Service charge.  

And it should be exact science.  It is not just an estimate.  If you did it right you will get the same result from any tax service you use.  

[xmasbaby0]

It sounds like you chose to pay your TurboTax fees from your federal refund, which would explain why your federal refund was less than the amount you saw on the tax form.  If you chose to pay from your refund, you have to subtract the amount of the fees and the refund processing fee that went to the third party bank from the amount you expected.   You chose that option instead of paying upfront before you filed.

When you choose "refund processing"   TurboTax gets its fees when the IRS releases your refund.  Your refund goes to the third party bank.  The bank takes out your fees and then that bank sends the rest of the refund to you.

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?

And....check the amounts you entered for state income from your W-2's.  Look carefully at what you entered from boxes 16 and 17 of your W-2's.   You may have made a mistake which resulted in an incorrect state refund.  The state may have caught the mistake and corrected it.  Or if you owed back taxes to the state, they took it from your state refund.   The state will send you a letter explaining why they reduced your state refund, but it takes a few extra weeks for them to mail out that letter.