Complaint

[jason1111]

Tax filing through Turbotax is complicated and made me pay more or refund less.

I'm a PhD student. I have a colleague who makes similar amount of salary. (exact numbers slightly vary depending on our funding source). But our statuses are the same. I don't understand why my tax is higher than his and payments are less than his. I ended up paying 700. Talking with agent is not available or takes long unless I purchase premium while he filed his tax in FreeTaxUSA. This is frustrating.

[xmasbaby0]

Your friend may have "similar" income---but there are so many variable that affect a tax return that in order to compare you would have to put your tax returns side by side and compare them line by line to see what is different.  And....there will be differences.

We cannot see your screen, your return or your account.  

Lots of tax laws changed.  Those changes are resulting in lower refunds for lots of people.

There is no recovery rebate credit (stimulus $) for 2023.  The childcare credit is  less and is not refundable. The child tax credit is different and it is less.    And for some people, earned income credit is different because there is no “lookback” to an earlier year.  Those are some of the reasons your refund may be less.

There are a lot of variables that affect your refund or tax due including how much you earned, how much tax you had withheld, your filing status, the number of dependents you claim, your deductions and credits, etc.  You may have lost Earned Income Credit or the Child Tax Credit— did a child turn 17?  If you received the EIC last year, remember that changes in the amount you earn have a big effect on the amount of EIC you can get. (Sometimes earning more money means less EIC)  Are you 65 or older ?  If so, your standard deduction is higher. Everyone has a higher standard deduction now so it is harder to use itemized deductions.

And…..the child tax credit is very different for 2023    For 2021 you could get $3600 for a child under 6 or $3000 for a child between 6 and 17 even if you had no income/did not work.   That is NOT the way it will work for your 2023 tax return.  The “old” rules are back.   The maximum amount of the child tax credit is now $2000; the refundable “additional child tax credit” amount is $1600.   In order to get that credit, you have to have income from working.  The credit is calculated based on the amount you earned above $2500 multiplied by 15%, up to the full $1600.  If your child is older than 16 at the end of 2023, you do not get the CTC.  But you may still get the non-refundable $500 credit for other dependents instead.

And of course, always check your own data entries, looking for errors such as misplaced decimals or extra zeros.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/refund-go-compared-last-year/...

Print out 2022  and 2023  and compare them side by side to see what is different. 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-payments/video-why-would-i-owe-federal-taxes/L3VXudPiN

[jason1111]

single, same graduate research funding (just a couple of hundred dollar difference) from government research fund. No other things reported other than W-2 and 1098 from the university. I wish I can show my screen and get any advice. Turbotax always redirect questions to unrelated posts and never give right answers. This basic option costs ~$100. I'm sorry but Turbotax is disappointing.

[Vanessa A]

You can look at line by line comparison with his return to see where the difference is. This is the only way to know where the difference is since we can't see your screen and do not know what he entered on his return.  If you find the difference, and would like some type of further help you can post the numbers here.  We may be able to guide you through figuring out the difference if we know at least somewhat where the difference is coming from and the exact numbers.  Little differences can make a lot of difference.  Even if one of you contributed to a 401K, and the other didn't, it would make a difference. 

 If you are using the online version you can view your form 1040 On the menu bar on the left that shows. 

1. Select Tax Tools 
2. On the drop-down select Tools 
3. On the pop-up menu 
4. Select View Tax Summary 
5. On the left sidebar, select Preview my 1040 

If you are using the desktop version, you can switch to forms mode to see your form 1040. 

[xmasbaby0]

@jason1111 This is a public website that can be seen by anyone using the internet so do not post screenshots that reveal any of your personal information.   As two of us have explained to you, there are multiple factors that affect your tax refund or tax due.  Your colleague may have had more tax withheld by indicating something on his W-4 that was different than the one you filled out.    You are students----so you may be getting different amounts for an education credit.  He may have received some other credit that you did not receive.   He may have made a mistake that you did not make---or vice versa--maybe you made a mistake that he did not make.  

You want to blame TurboTax --- but you really have no idea why your refund or tax due is different from your friend's.   You chose to use and pay for TurboTax.