Question

My refund is less than expected by $327 and comes from TPG PRODUCTS LLC. The IRS where's my refund page says it can't find my refund so I can't figure out why it's less

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
February 28, 2022
9 replies
0 views

I saw on Google that this is a common problem this year for turbo tax users. I just want a explanation why my refund was less, or my money I think I'm owed!

TurboTax Self Employed Online

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xmasbaby0

Employee

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.**

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ianshinvilleAuthor

Thanks for your reply. Line 34 was 3616. I owed 477 to state which I chose to have taken out of my refund. I do not believe I made any mistakes or owed any money. I looked at the fees you guys took and the amount does not match what I believe I am short. I saw on the message board here that

"We are aware of an issue related to your Refund Processing that may have caused you to see a smaller-than-expected refund.

We’re in the process of reimbursing all who were affected. Within the next 24-48 hours, those affected will receive a credit. If you were affected, look for a deposit (in the bank account associated with your return) labeled, "Remaining Federal Refund Due". If you don't see that deposit in a few business days, please reach out to TurboTax Customer Support."

I just want the small amount of money I think I'm owed. Or a better explanation than you are probably dumb and filled it out wrong. Or wait for something in the mail. Please help or explain to me where to actually get help

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xmasbaby0

Employee

Your state tax due cannot be paid from your federal refund.

It is not possible to pay your state tax due from your federal refund, nor is it possible to pay a federal tax due from a state refund. The federal and state treasuries are completely separate from each other. You may have seen a TurboTax summary of your federal and state amounts that confused you into thinking one was “paying” the other. It is not. The ONLY thing you can pay for from a federal refund is your TurboTax fees if you chose that option.

**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.**

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jvlo16

My refund is over a hundred dollars short. The website is useless. I just want MY money. I think a lawsuit is a great idea!

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Mandisteven1288

Yes, I think I need a lawyer because mine is 11,088$ short!!!!🙎😭🙎😭 This **bleep** is not even funny. I owe nothing to anyone, I have no debts, they should not have taken any money out to offset ANYTHING. I have 3 dependants and was expecting 3,600$ JUST FROM THE REMAINDER OF MY CHILD TAX CREDIT ALONE!!! I CLAIM 0 THROUGHOUT THE YEAR and I have a lot of money taken out of my check so at tax time I always get a big refund. I work hard and this is my money! This is bull**bleep**. I am not gonna let the GOVERNMENT TAKE MY MONEY ANYMORE. I give them my money and then they make me wait forever to get it back and now they aren't even giving it to me!!!?? I filed my taxes Jan 30th and it is now March 30th . 2 months later and I received a measly 1,396$ when I was expecting 12,484$!! I want to freak out. This **bleep** is not right. I'm sorry I am ranting but I am just so mad. I don't even know what to do because the IRS DOESNT TAKE MY CALL. They say all agents are busy and hang up. Help!!!!🙎😭🙎😭

Same here! 😠

I’m missing 1,000.

My refund is missing 2300 and I'm trying to reach out but no customer service 😕😕 😒 this is crazy....just want the rest of my money

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Vanessa A

You should receive a letter from the IRS telling you why your refund amount was changed. The two most common reasons so far this season are:

You did not enter that you received the stimulus payment in TurboTax, so your return said you were getting the money back, but the IRS caught it and said, no, you already received it.
- If you look at line 30 of your 1040 and it shows an amount there, and you already received the $1,400 per person last year when they sent out the stimulus payments, this is likely the reason.
- If you do not remember getting the stimulus payments you can go back through your back records to double check. Many people either didn't realize they did receive it or they forgot, but end up seeing it when they go back through their records.
You did not report the full amount of your Advanced Payments for the Child Tax Credit that you already received. Again, the IRS will catch this and make the changes to your return.

A few other reasons include:

You owed back taxes, child support, student loans or something else that caused your refund to be Offset to pay some of the past due debt. You should have received a letter if this was the case.
Something was not reported correctly on your return and the IRS recalculated your return causing you not to have a refund. This could include things such as missing income or inaccurately reported income (ex. you entered $5,500 for your W2 box 1 instead of $15,500)

You should look for a letter from the IRS and if you do not have one or do not receive one, you would need to call the IRS at 800-829-1040 as no one else would have the answer as to why your refund was reduced.

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Mandisteven1288

hey good morning. I am freaking out myself because I was expecting a refund of $12,484 and only got $1,396. I saw SBGTP AND THE DEPOSIT AND I WAS LIKE WHAT IS THIS?! THIS CANNOT BE MY TAX REFUND? When I googled it sure enough it was and I almost **bleep** myself! This cannot be right!! Where did you read this about TT not sending whole refunds and reimbursement in 24-48hrs? I would like to check this out. I do NOT owe any money, have any debts or anything like that. There should not have been any money taken out for any offsets. I have 3 dependants. During the year I claim 0 so I get a bunch of money taken out of my check every week and at the end of the year when I file my return I always get a nice big chunk back. I got 3,600$ in child tax credit payments over 6 months and the IRS still owed me $3,6000 from that alone, plus the money I put in over the course of the year! So this just makes no sense and I'm very upset. I feel like I could throw up. I am going to HR DEPARTMENT AT MY JOB and claiming 1 or 2 from now. I am not letting shiesty IRS MOTHER FERS to take my money and then make me wait for it back only to screw me and not even give it back!! I worked for that money!!! This **bleep** is not right. What can I do??? I called the IRS and I keep getting hung up on saying that all the agents are busy. When I check the where's my refund website it says my refund was received and it is being reviewed. It doesn't even say I was paid. Also I used TT LAST year and opted to pay them with my refund and I received my refund from the IRS. I did not get the SBGTP deposit bull**bleep**. I do my own taxes every year but I am not using Turbo Tax again, next tax season I am hiring a professional. I am so mad.

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LowEndGirl

My return from TPG is short over $3000.
we signed an arbitration agreement when we agreed to use TurboTax, so we cannot file a class action civil suit. We can, however, contact a Federal Prosector and file charges of theft and racketeering.
I agree to pay TT/Intuit $219 for the filing service… not $3000.
this is absolute BS

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HJ10

Mine is $1500 short. I contacted as well and they said I probably owed the IRS. I cannot find my refund in the IRS tracking website and when I logged into the IRS website there is no history of filing this year, pending payments, payment made, and had a zero balance owed for years. Unsure of what is going on and answers are needed

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Abicans20

My refund was suppose to be $178 but I only received the $78

DoninGA

Employee

@Abicans20 wrote:

My refund was suppose to be $178 but I only received the $78

Is the amount sent/issued by the IRS the same as the refund amount shown on your federal tax return Form 1040 Line 35a? - https://www.irs.gov/refunds

If not, then go to this IRS website for information on reduced refunds - https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc203

Have you factored in the TurboTax account fees and the TPG service charge of $39 plus any applicable sales tax?
Review your TurboTax account fees -
Sign onto the TurboTax website with the User ID you used to create the account - https://myturbotax.intuit.com/
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and on the section Your tax returns & documents click on View Order Details

If you requested to have the TurboTax account fees deducted from your federal tax refund, the IRS will send the refund to a third party processor to have the fees and the service charge deducted. The third party processor will deduct the TurboTax fees plus the service charge and then attempt to direct deposit the remaining refund balance into the account that you entered on your tax return.

For the status of your tax refund you will need to contact the third party processor, Santa Barbara Tax Product Group, using their website - https://www.sbtpg.com/

Tax Products Group Contact Information - https://help.sbtpg.com/hc/en-us/articles/230084587-Contact-Information
On this page you can also scroll down and click on Submit a request

Or https://taxpayer.sbtpg.com/

Call 1-877-908-7228

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MOTORHOMMIE

I lost $308. I had the same thing happen (I live in AZ) with my check going to Santa Barbra Tax Products Group. The check should have been $2508 and was $2200.79! $40 taken out for something, $226 taken out for something and $30 taken out for REISSUE of refund check! The Checking account (which is not mine) routing /account was CLOSED and that is why the re-issue punishing me!

None of this seems correct. In the past, I file, send and IRS sends it directly to my bank.

VolvoGirl

Employee

@MOTORHOMMIE You choose to have the Turbo Tax fees deducted from your return. So your refund went through the 3rd party bank sbtpg to take the fees out. There is an Extra $40 Refund Processing Service charge for that. Then apparently SBTPG couldn’t deposit your refund into your bank account so they had to mail you a check for another fee. The Turbo Tax fees were probably the $226.

How to review your fees

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/how-do-i-review-my-fees-in-turbotax-online/00/26353

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xmasbaby0

Employee

Next time----pay your TurboTax fees upfront using a credit or debit card and avoid the refund processing fee and the possible aggravation of dealing with the third party bank. You do not have to use refund processing. It is too late for this year, but going forward:

There is not a fee to e-file your tax return or to have direct deposit of your refund.

Did you choose to pay for using TurboTax by having the fee taken out of your federal refund? That means you will pay an EXTRA FEE of $40 ($45 in CA) to have a third party bank receive your refund from the IRS, take out enough to pay TT, and then send you the rest of the refund. ( The third party bank keeps the $40 or $45 fee for itself.)

You do not have to do that. Pay upfront BEFORE you file --- pay using a credit or debit card.

REMOVE REFUND PROCESSING FEE

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/intuit-account-billing/remove-pay-refund-fees-turbotax-online-change/L7UxC6ZZp_US_en_US?uid=m6r4xelq

**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.**