Why is Turbotax tax calculation so low?

[RobMer]

My Taxable income is $13,629 and I'm filing Single. According to the 2023 tax table, my 12% tax should be $1,415. Turbotax desktop calculated Tentative tax to be $873. What am I missing?

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

It depends on what kind of income you have.  There are like 7 different ways to figure the tax.

See the IRS worksheet on 1040 page 36 for how the tax is figured.  Turbo Tax uses the same worksheet.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040gi.pdf

Even though it shows up as income on the first page,if you have capital gains or qualified dividends the tax is not taken from the tax table but is calculated separately from schedule D.  The tax will be calculated on the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.  It does not get filed with your return.

In the online version you need to save your return as a pdf file and include all worksheets to see it.

For the Desktop version you can switch to Forms Mode and open the worksheet to see it.  Click Forms in the upper right (upper left for Mac) and look through the list and open the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet.  And you will need to use this IRS worksheet on page 15.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040tt.pdf

[RobMer]

Thank you for the help. You pointed me to the right places and I found all the information I needed to figure it out.