Thank you @Kat and @DawnC . So the answer is no, **bleep**.
I understand that what matters is that the final numbers calculated by TT are correct. But I do find it a little confusing/irritating that the intermediate number ("refund meter") after adding my W2 does not match a simple spreadsheet calculation I keep on the side, to corroborate my understanding of how much I'm supposed to owe/get back out of just my salary. Yep, I can ignore the refund meter, but then (a) what's the point of having it (b) I may not be understanding how taxes on wages work, because there is no simple way for me to double-check on my spreadsheet estimates
