topic Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

jva0863185 — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 13:00:06 GMT

i need help from an expert but i can't afford the higher rates from turbo tax, i already paid for the tax stuff but now it looks like i won't get anything from my refund even though every year before i was getting thousands back because of the headline

Re: Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

ee-ea — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:24:49 GMT

See this from the IRS

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-qualifying-taxpayers

Re: Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

Vanessa A — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:25:34 GMT

Did your situation change from last year?

Did you answer ALL the questions in TurboTax?

Were you self-employed and subject to self-employment tax. This is an additional 15.3% of taxes on your total profit from your business.

Look at your form 1040 to verify your entries are correct.

Line 1 is your income entered from your W-2's
Line 15 is your taxable income. This consists of your total income minus your standard deduction which if you are single is $12,950.
Line 16 is your Tax based on the number on line 15
Line 18 is your total tax liability is before any credits.
Line 25 is the amount of taxes your employer withheld from your wages. If your employer did not withhold enough, this would be the biggest reason you have to pay in.
Line 37 is the amount you owe.

If you are single with no children and not in school, there are not a lot of credits available to change your taxes due.

If your employer is not withholding enough taxes, you may want to complete a new W4 form for them.

You can see your 1040 by clicking Tools>>Tax Tools>>View Tax Summary>>Preview My 1040

Re: Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

jva0863185 — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 00:38:40 GMT

to clarify, my situation has not changed and I have answered all the questions to the best of my ability.

i work at a non-profit, the pay is actually lower than my pay at previous locations, and i have a donation to charity of $1,600; However, if i do itemized deductions and add the 1,600, i actually OWE money on my taxes.

To my knowledge (and communications with HR) i am withholding the maximum amount.

Re: Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

fanfare — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 01:26:22 GMT

you must be doing something or several things wrong.

we can't see your return or your screen to know what you did.

Re: Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

Martha777 — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 01:34:55 GMT

Do NOT itemize deductions! You must have over the standard deduction to itemize (which this year would have to be more than $12,900) Try removing the itemizing input and let TurboTax recalculate using the standard deduction.

Re: Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

glutney — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 15:50:47 GMT

I can't understand why I am getting only 9 dollars back in taxes

Re: Why is my tax refund only 9 dollars i paid so much in taxes and i am poor

Vanessa A — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 15:53:50 GMT

If this is something new and you received a much larger refund in previous years, it is likely because your tax situation changed or you made an error in your entries. If nothing changed, then you can go back and compare your return from last year to this year. Click here for instructions on how to see your 1040 online. If you use the desktop version, you can just click on Forms mode at the top of the page.

Were you self-employed and have a liability for Self-Employment Taxes. These taxes are 15.3% of your profit. So if you made a profit of $10,000, you would owe $1,530 for self-employment taxes. If this is your situation, you should be making quarterly estimated payments to cover your SE taxes and avoid penalties.

You had multiple jobs and each employer withheld enough to cover the wages you made with them, but when you combine your wages from multiple employers you are in a higher tax bracket and neither employer withheld at the higher rate. If you have multiple employers, you may want to complete a new W4 form for the one you make the most for or even for 2 of them. You will want to complete section 2 and probably section four to have an additional amount withheld every pay period. You can calculate the amount extra to be withheld, if your job situation is not expected to change, by dividing your $1,700 due by the number of pay periods you have in a year (usually 26 or 52) and entering that on line 4c.

You claimed an exemption on your W-4, or you did not update it. For example, you had a child that was 15 when you started the job, but now they are 17 and no longer eligible for the child tax credit or your filing status has changed.

Did your child turn 17 and lower your Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to the $500 Non-Refundable Other Dependent Credit ?

Be sure to go through all the questions in TurboTax to make sure you did not miss any credits or deductions.