Why was my direct deposit for my refund less than the amount shown on TurboTAx?

[finley0115]

When I e-filed, my federal refund showed $1365, but when it direct deposited, only 1240 was deposited

[mesquitebean]

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@finley0115 wrote:
When I e-filed, my federal refund showed $1365, but when it direct deposited, only 1240 was deposited. Why was my direct deposit for my refund less than the amount shown on TurboTAx?

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It looks like the difference is $125 less than you expected.

Did you have any TurboTax fees that you chose to pay out of your Federal refund?   In Online Deluxe, a Federal return is $40, and a state return is $40.    If you used "pay out of refund", there is an additional $40 service fee ($45 for California filers.)   Plus possible sales tax.

Does that explain the difference you are seeing?

[Beachkid1963]

Why was my refund 3000 less and deposited by a company in Santa Barbara california

[Vanessa A]

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. 
   • 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. 
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.

[mesquitebean]

@Beachkid1963   also wrote: "deposited by a company in Santa Barbara california"

If you had any TurboTax fees that you chose to pay out of your Federal refund, the refund goes first from the IRS to a temporary account in your name at an intermediary bank where the product fees are subtracted.   Then that intermediary bank sends the rest of the funds on to your bank (or card.)   The company that handles that is SBTPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group.)