Without being able to view your return, it's impossible to say exactly what caused your refund to decrease. However, there's a high probability that at least one reason is listed below.
If your refund is wildly off, it's possible you simply mistyped a dollar amount somewhere. An extra digit here, a missing number there, even something as seemingly insignificant as a misplaced decimal point can have an eye-popping effect on your TurboTax refund.
Changes in your income or tax rate
- You (or your spouse) took on an additional job (especially non-wage income which is taxed at the higher self-employment tax rate);
- Your salary or wages increased but your W-4 stayed the same;
- You sold investments but didn't take out any taxes from the sale;
- Your filing status changed from last year;
- You started receiving Social Security benefits or Roth IRA distributions;
- You received taxable unemployment income;
- You had gambling winnings;
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You're paying a penalty for not having health insurance coverage in 2017.
