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March 15, 2021
Question

Got a different amount in my bank account I just want to know why is less

  • March 15, 2021
  • 2 replies
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I supposedly need to get 5208 but in my bank account shows 4200

2 replies

Employee
March 15, 2021

 

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

 

 

 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

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
March 15, 2021

There are lots of reasons why the IRS adjusts refunds and sends taxpayers amounts different than what is on their return when they file.  It could be that your refund was subject to an Offset:

 

If you owe money because of certain delinquent debts, the IRS or the Department of Treasury's Financial Management Service (FMS), which issues IRS tax refunds, can offset or reduce your federal tax refund or withhold the entire amount to satisfy the debt.

 

If you owe federal or state income taxes your refund will be offset to pay those taxes. If you had other debt such as child support or student loan debt that was submitted for offset, FMS will take as much of your refund as is needed to pay off the debt, and send it to the agency authorized to collect the debt. Any portion of your refund remaining after an offset will be refunded to you.

 

It could be because of a simple data entry error on your tax return that was corrected by the IRS.  It could also be because you left something off of your return such as a Form 1099 or a W-2.

 

Whatever the reason, the IRS will send you a letter of explanation. You should receive the letter with a week or two.

 

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