Can someone explain why my return is over $500 less this year than last year, and my income only increased by $2898?

[brent-stacey]

I do not believe that I am in a higher tax bracket this year. I am single, with one dependent and filing HOH.

[Marketstar]

Without being able to view your return, it's impossible to say exactly what caused your refund to decrease. However, there's a high probability that at least one reason is listed below.

If your refund is wildly off, it's possible you simply mistyped a dollar amount somewhere. An extra digit here, a missing number there, even something as seemingly insignificant as a misplaced decimal point can have an eye-popping effect on your TurboTax refund.

Changes in your income or tax rate

• You (or your spouse) took on an additional job (especially non-wage income which is taxed at the higher self-employment tax rate);
• Your salary or wages increased but your W-4 stayed the same;
• You sold investments but didn't take out any taxes from the sale;
• Your filing status changed from last year;
• You started receiving Social Security benefits or Roth IRA distributions;
• You received taxable unemployment income;
• You had gambling winnings;
• You're paying a penalty for not having health insurance coverage in 2017.

Loss of credits or deductions

See Why Did My Refund Go Down From Last Year?

[brent-stacey]

My income only increased by $2898. My W-4 did stay the same, but would a $2898 increase in salary really effect my return that much? Other than that slight change in salary, I have had zero changes from last year.

[Marketstar]

The $500 difference is !7% of your increase in income-doesn't seem like an unreasonable difference depending on your total income.