When I subtract the TAX LIABILTY shown from the TOTAL TAXES PAID shown, Turbo Tax is showing an incorrect tax owed number and I should actually be receiving a refund when I do this math manually.
Review your federal tax return, Form 1040 instead of the Summary page.
You can view your Form 1040 plus Schedules 1, 2 and 3 at any time using the online editions. Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.
Yes, if you think that the tax calculation is wrong you need to look at the figures on your tax return to see if there is a problem, or if it is just something that doesn't show on your tax summary.
You can do this by either printing the return, previewing it in TurboTax, or viewing it in Forms mode (only in TurboTax Desktop).
To print your tax return in TurboTax Online:
Select Pay Now on the next screen and follow the prompts to pay and print or save a copy of the return.
To preview your return in TurboTax Online:
When you are done, select Back from the left-side menu.
If you are using TurboTax Desktop, select the Forms icon toward the upper right corner, then highlight 1040 in the list on the left.
The formula for a tax refund is subtract line 24 from line 33. A positive number is your refund, a negative number is the balance due.
If you have more questions once you see your tax return figures, just respond back with details and TurboTax can help you further.
The "Get a detailed view of your numbers" section is extremely misleading or computing incorrectly. Tax liability - Taxes paid does not equal the amount due shown in the top left (its completely off and not a sign issue)