topic Tax Refund in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Tax Refund

user17713397972 — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:00:01 GMT

I am a W-2 employee.
I don't have a second job.
My average annual income is $40,000, 50,000 between Taxes are deducted every time I receive my paycheck.
I am single, have no children, and have no other income.
I am a tenant and I pay my bills.
In this situation, how much refund can I expect to receive this year?

I received a $275 refund last year, is that normal

Re: Tax Refund

rjs — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:15:28 GMT

The amount of your refund depends on how much tax was withheld from your pay. You get a refund because the amount of tax that you had withheld is more than the amount of tax you have to pay for the year. You get a refund of the excess withholding. At this point the best way to find out how much your refund will be is to go ahead and prepare your tax return.

Re: Tax Refund

user17713397972 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 21:06:57 GMT

That's the refund I received last year. I've prepared for this year and it seems to be even more.

There's a big difference between last year and this year.

So, is the refund amount I received last year normal?

Re: Tax Refund

rjs — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 21:49:24 GMT

There is no "normal" refund. Your refund depends on your individual circumstances, and it can change from year to year.

Re: Tax Refund

user17713397972 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 22:10:11 GMT

I understand, but last year my income was $40,000 and my refund was $275. This year my income is $50,000 and my refund appears to be $2,000. I'm just wondering why it appears so little last year.

I filed my first tax return last year because I moved to US

Re: Tax Refund

user17713397972 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 22:11:17 GMT

BTW Thanks for your answers

Re: Tax Refund

Opus 17 — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 22:23:45 GMT

@user17713397972 wrote:

I understand, but last year my income was $40,000 and my refund was $275. This year my income is $50,000 and my refund appears to be $2,000. I'm just wondering why it appears so little last year.

I filed my first tax return last year because I moved to US

When you fill out a W-2 at your workplace, that is used to estimate the amount of tax to have withheld. The default formula is designed to give most taxpayers a "modest" refund, whatever that means. Because you can be penalized if you owe a tax payment when you file (and some people have trouble coming up with even a small tax payment), the default formula leans toward the side of collecting a little too much tax.

Remember that a big refund (let's say $5000 for example), just means the taxpayer paid $100/week extra to the IRS. That means they had $100 less per week to spend on weekly expenses. It's also an interest-free loan to the US government. It can be a (rather poor) way to have a forced savings account so it feels like you "won" something, but it just means you paid too much in so you get some back.

You can customize your withholding using the IRS web site, if you want a certain size refund, or if you want to balance out even and not owe or get a refund. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

If this is your first full year as a legal US resident (green card or citizen), there are certain tax benefits you might qualify for that you did not qualify for last year. The only way to know for sure would be to do a side by side comparison of the two returns.

But as the others said, there is no single "normal" refund that is right for everyone.

Re: Tax Refund

rjs — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:55:20 GMT

@user17713397972 wrote:

I understand, but last year my income was $40,000 and my refund was $275. This year my income is $50,000 and my refund appears to be $2,000. I'm just wondering why it appears so little last year.

Your refund is not related to the amount of your income.

You didn't say exactly when you moved to the U.S., or what your immigration status is. Your situation could be much more complicated than you initially indicated. It may be too complicated for us to deal with here, especially if you were a dual-status alien in 2024.

Re: Tax Refund

user17713397972 — Sun, 22 Feb 2026 01:16:31 GMT

I have greencard.

I started working in February 2024, and as you said, maybe I missed out on some taxes because it wasn't a full year. I worked in 2025, so it might be higher. I was a little surprised that the 2024 refund was so low.