I used the same W2 with the same exact information that I used here on TurboTax, so no, I did not enter anything in error in the other program. Assume all you want but the 'bottom line' here is that the software I use (well, used to use) here at TurboTax seems to be unreliable and I no longer trust it.
I already stated (but I will again state this for you since you must have misunderstood) that I had a past issue similar to this in the fact that I put all my information in and it claimed I was getting a very minimal refund (literally less than $500). I chalked it up to the fact that I worked in one state for a few months then got a new job and worked in another state the rest of the year. Stupidly, I filed anyways because at the time I need the money badly and even though it was way under what I should have gotten, it was better than nothing. Suddenly, 3 months after I got that return, I get a check from the IRS for almost $3500. I called the IRS and confirmed the authenticity of the check as it seemed odd that the IRS would give me such a large amount back after already receiving my return 3 months prior. The agent could not verify at the time so he advised me to not cash the check for 30 days just to be safe, which I obliged. I actually waited 60 days, and then I called the IRS back and talked to a different agent and explained the whole situation again because it still didn't sit right with me. This agent informed me that it was in fact a check the IRS issued to cover an under-payment when I filed my taxes for the 2020 tax year. He then went on to tell me that they have had several cases involving tax prep software (he did not give names of said tax software but come on.. use common sense here there's like 2 main tax services and this is one of them) with similar issues in not awarding full refunds and that money then just basically sits in limbo and goes nowhere until the IRS investigates and reviews where the money is supposed to go.
I'm not saying Turbotax is skimming off of refunds, I'm simply stating that the software has flaws. I understand that all software can have flaws but to cut a tax return literally in half for no real reason seems to be a pretty major flaw that should be fixed.
FYI the software does not add $3,000 and then remove $1,500 because at no point did the software list the amount I was getting back for the CTC. It did not start at $3,000 and remove half (as you claim it does) after inputting the data for the CTC--it was never in my REFUND METER amount at all. I started at $1450 and it ended at $1450, including federal and state. Just so you know, TaxAct DOES do that. I watched it start at $3000 then the next page asks for the advanced credit and the amount and once I put in that I already got $1500 of it, it then reduced it by $1500 and showed me that I was getting the other $1500 back from CTC.
You can sit here and argue with me all you want but I'm telling you the software has issues and this is now the 2nd time I've experienced an issue while using this software that almost screwed me out of my rightfully earned tax return. And just for the record, after I posted this question, I went back and re-did my entire return (I cleared all the info out and started over) and it again did the same exact thing.
