My federal was supposed to be 5k for the return according to turbo tax. I see the irs has changed it to 1k citing reference number 9021. Why such a drastic change?

[SweetieJean]

9021– Reference Code for all math error conditions.

Note that a "math error" can occur if you make a data entry mistake, or forget to claim some income; and thus the refund amount is incorrectly calculated..  The IRS will be sending you a letter. They do not notify TT. 

[sirdovey05]

Do you have kids? I'm dealing with the same code and same drastic reduction of return. When I efiled, irs gave me a different code saying my kids name or social was wrong so I paper filled.  I just checked this morning and I'm getting the same 9021 code that you're getting. Hoping its a simple fix. Mathematically would make sense on my return that my kids are still not being shown as my dependent,  but then why the change in code?

[Plop032]

Yeah i claimed 2 kids. Dosnt make sence. I will probably call them monday and try to figure things out.

[Wimom]

Hello do you mind sharing what happened with this situation? My refund was suppose to be around $5,000,  now they have reduced it to $400!!!! The reference code on wmr is 9021, im losing my mind! 

[rpanam]

Same situation.. TT refund 5k.  ended up getting 4k less. Two dependent children <10yrs. Compared with last year..same situation but no offset/or math error. Why this year ? 

any updates on your situation ..you would like to share.. thank you.

[WhyCantTaxBeEasy]

Same situation here. I’m waiting for the notice. Any guidance on what were the outcomes for folks above ? 

[xmasbaby0]

@WhyCantTaxBeEasy TurboTax does not receive any information from the IRS after you file your tax return, so no one at TT knows what the IRS changed on your return or why your refund was less than you expected.  The IRS notice will explain.

MY REFUND WAS LESS THAN I EXPECTED

There can be a number of reasons why your refund was less than the amount you expected. First of all, look carefully at your actual tax returns.  There is sometimes confusion about the amount of refund to expect when users misinterpret the “summary” they saw in TurboTax. The amount of your refund is on your tax return.  Federal refund line 20 on Form 1040  State tax forms are all different so we cannot tell you what line to look at on your state form.  BUT it is important to actually LOOK at your tax return forms yourself and see the amounts of your tax refunds and/or tax due.  A lot of confusion would be avoided by doing that.

TurboTax does not receive feedback from the IRS regarding money that was offset from your refund.  If you owed back taxes, child support, student loan debt, etc. you will receive a letter of explanation from the IRS in several weeks.  The WMR site will contain a message regarding your offset.  It is also possible that the IRS caught a mistake you made and reduced your refund.

It is also possible that your state reduced your refund for debts owed in your state—if the state reduced your state refund you will receive a letter from the state.

https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-refund-offsets-pay-unpaid-debts

 IRS Treasury Offset Program Call Center at 1-800-304-3107

Be aware also that your Federal refund and state refund do NOT come together. Federal and state tax returns are processed by two completely separate entities.  There is no rule as to which one will come first,

Did you choose to have TT fees deducted from your Federal refund?  (Remember that if you did that, you also agreed to an extra refund processing fee of $39.99)

How can I see my TurboTax  fees?   

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2565973-how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online

https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-refund-offsets-pay-unpaid-debts

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refunds/help/what-is-a-refund-offset/00/26301

Reduced Refund     https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc203

 NOTE: You can contact the IRS Treasury Offset Program Call Center at 1-800-304-3107 to ask if they have an offset for you on file. TurboTax would not have that information.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-payments/who-can-garnish-an-income-tax-refund/L7cPPzDyc

[Ashley 3373]

My federal was to be 7903, got $3903 reference code 9021,  call and according to the lady i spoke with moreless i didnt have enough taxes taken out so my refund was reduced, but mind you i made less than 35,000 head of household and 2 kids under 10yrs old every year ive always gotten over 5000 for federal. Wtf 

[VolvoGirl]

That doesn't make sense.  If your withholding was less it would have been less on your tax return not adjusted after you filed.   You got exactly 4,000 less?  Any credits or payments on your return for 4,000?  Did you claim too much Recovery Rebate credit for the Stimulus on 1040 line 30?  Check over your return.  Anything look wrong or you don't understand?  Maybe someone else here knows what code 9021 refers to.

[jmrduenaz]

Isn't Turbo tax suppose to walk us threw filing our taxes? I received code 9021 and on line 30 it's marked with$1,100 and that exactly is what the IRS took out of my return.Turbo tax has not told me why on line 30 that amount was put there.So I paid TT extra just to get the run around.saying my 1 child SSnumber is wrong or lastname wasn't filled in which is BS because I checked my return and everything is correct.TT just tells me they can see my return once the IRS has it. TT should at least explain why the amount $1,100 was put on line 30.

[VolvoGirl]

@jmrduenaz   Did you have a child born in 2020?  1,100 sounds like the first and second stimulus amounts for a dependent 500+600.  You must have added a dependent to your 2020 return you didn't get the stimulus for yet.  Or you entered the wrong amounts in the 2 boxes for the total Stimulus you already got.  There was a screen with 2 boxes asking what you already got during the year to see if you qualified for more. 

How much did you already get?  The first one came out starting in April and the second one came December - February.  Did you maybe get the second one after you filed?  

[SweetieJean]

I think some taxpayers get confused because we are doing 2020 tax returns. but received the 2nd stimulus in 2021 (so answered NO to that question).    I also wonder if perhaps the IRS SSN data base for these payments is not fully updated for 2020 births.  Also see:

Have a stimulus check problem? Better not call the IRS. Do these things instead (cnet.com)

[CV14795]

I am having the same issue . We have never had any issues with our taxes . They also took 1k out off our return . I want to know why and how do I fix it . 

[xmasbaby0]

@CV14795 There are several users who have posted to this thread.  What "same issue" are you having?   If your refund was reduced by the IRS, the IRS will send you a letter to explain why--but it takes several weeks before they send out the letter.

Did you enter  ALL of the stimulus money that you had already received correctly in the recovery rebate credit section when you prepared your 2020 return?  The IRS cross checks and if you did not enter all of the money you received, they recalculate your refund.

MY REFUND WAS LESS THAN I EXPECTED

There can be a number of reasons why your refund was less than the amount you expected. First of all, look carefully at your actual tax returns.  There is sometimes confusion about the amount of refund to expect when users misinterpret the “summary” they saw in TurboTax. The amount of your refund is on your tax return.  Federal refund is on line 34 on Form 1040  State tax forms are all different so we cannot tell you what line to look at on your state form.  BUT it is important to actually LOOK at your tax return forms yourself and see the amounts of your tax refunds and/or tax due.  A lot of confusion would be avoided by doing that.

TurboTax does not receive feedback from the IRS regarding money that was offset from your refund.  If you owed back taxes, child support, student loan debt, etc. you will receive a letter of explanation from the IRS in several weeks.  The WMR site will contain a message regarding your offset.  It is also possible that the IRS caught a mistake you made and reduced your refund. 

A possible reason for the reduction could be that the recovery rebate credit was completed incorrectly and you may have entered the amount of stimulus already received wrong, which could have reduced the refund you thought you were seeing.

 It is also possible that your state reduced your refund for debts owed in your state—if the state reduced your state refund you will receive a letter from the state.

https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-refund-offsets-pay-unpaid-debts

 IRS Treasury Offset Program Call Center at 1-800-304-3107

Be aware also that your Federal refund and state refund do NOT come together.  Federal and state tax returns are processed by two completely separate entities.  There is no rule as to which one will come first,

Did you choose to have TT fees deducted from your Federal refund?  (Remember that if you did that, you also agreed to an extra refund processing fee of $39.99)

How can I see my TurboTax  fees?   

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/2565973-how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online

 https://www.irs.gov/uac/tax-refund-offsets-pay-unpaid-debts

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/refunds/help/what-is-a-refund-offset/00/26301

Reduced Refund      https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc203