Tax refund way less then tax estimator?

[annie061510]

My actual refund is $6000 less then the estimator and it's usually right on. What did I do wrong on first time doing my own taxes.

[Affordabletaxes2021]

Did you receive any advanced child tax credit payments? 

[annie061510]

Yes but only 1500 out of 6000.. Not understanding why tax estimator is that far off

[Vanessa A]

The refund difference between Tax Estimator and your actual refund is likely because you did not enter the exact same information into the estimator as you did your return. If you entered an estimated income that was only $1,000 different than what the actual amount on  your return was, you could have been eligible for a credit with the lower income that you weren't with the higher income or the amount of a credit could have changed.

Did you guess on the amount withheld or did you enter the exact amount you had withheld?  Did you enter ALL of your income or leave some of it out?  Were you able to claim all of the dependents you listed on your return?

 Your type of income could also affect the refund. If your income was from self-employment and you entered it as wages on the estimator, the estimator would not have accounted for self-employment taxes. 

If you are concerned something is wrong, then you can go back to the estimator and enter your information exactly as it is on your return. Then you can look at your return to get an idea of the differences.  The estimator lumps all of your credits together, but you can still see the total amount of credits it is estimating you receive. 

If you look at your 1040, line 28 will be the amount you are getting for the child tax credit.  

Line 32 is your refundable credits which includes your Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, Dependent Care Credit and a few other refundable credits from Schedule 3.

Line 33 of your 1040 are your total payments.  This is NOT a refund amount, this is the sum of what you had withheld from your paychecks and all of your credits, some credits are refundable others are not.

Line 34 is the amount of your refund.  This is how much you paid in, plus your credits minus your tax liability. 

You can also see your 1040 using forms mode in TurboTax Desktop or if you are using TurboTax online by clicking the following:

• Tax Tools
• Tools
• View Tax Summary
• Preview My 1040