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My brother had filed his taxes and he's getting back $20 less then what I'm getting back. Last year, I made 10k more then him. So why is he getting back nearly the same?
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There could be a number of reasons. If he made less, depending on where that puts him, he could be eligible for Earned income credit. His tax rate may be lower. His taxable income is lower. Basically, your refund is calculated by subtracting your tax liabilities from your Withholdings, Payments, and Credits.
In order to see exactly why he is getting $20 less than you, you would need to compare a number of things. If you both look at your 2018 Form 1040
Your tax liability is calculated based on your 2018 Tax Rates and other liabilities such as Self Employment Taxes or penalties.
Your withholdings and credits consist of what your employer withheld from your wages, estimated tax payments you made and refundable and nonrefundable credits.
Start by comparing line 11 (Tax liability). You will also want to compare line 16 (Federal Income Withheld) line 17 (Refundable Credits..Earned Income Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, and American Opportunity Credit) also found on Schedule 5 if applicable.
Other lines you may want to compare would be line 7 (AGI), 8 (Standard or Itemized Deductions) and 10 (Taxable Income)
Looking at these numbers will explain why your refunds are so close.
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