That's possible, because the IRS Tax Tables are in $50 increments.
So if you were almost to the next $50 level, the $2 in interest could
have put you over into the next $50 bracket.
It's easier to see in this example for a single filer:
Income Tax (from IRS Tax Table)
40,000 but less than 40,050 4,745
40,050 but less than 40,100 4,756
40,100 but less than 40,150 4,767
So
if a filer originally had 40,098 in taxable income, his tax would be
4,756. If another $2 in income, then that would put him at 40,100 in
income, and the tax would be 4,767. So in this example the filer owed an extra $11 in
tax because the $2 put him in the next $50 income "bracket."
Depending on where you are in that $50 bracket when you add additional income, the refund meter may go down (or tax due meter go up), or it may not change at all.
You
can look and see if that is what happened to you. The IRS Tax Table
begins on Page 67 of this publication of Form 1040 Instructions:
NOTE: Just be aware that the tax calculation that TurboTax uses
is not always
directly from the Tax Tables. Some situations require other tax
calculation methods and worksheets. For example, if you have any
income from
qualified dividends or capital gains, some of your tax may be
figured differently, such as on the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain
Tax Worksheet. So in some situations, the final tax amount won't
necessarily be a direct reading from
the Tax Tables.
