My tax refund is a lot less than last year

In order to qualify for the Earned Income Credit you must:

• Have earned income.
• Have been a U.S. citizen or resident alien for the entire tax year.
• Have a valid Social Security number (not an ITIN) for yourself, your spouse (if filing jointly), and any qualifying children on your return.
• Not have investment income exceeding $3,650.
• Not be filing a Form 2555 or 2555-EZ; and
• File a return even if you're not required to file a return.

In addition, both your earned income and Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) may not exceed:

• $15,820 if you're not claiming a qualifying child ($21,710 if filing jointly);
• $41,756 if you're claiming 1 qualifying child ($47,646 if filing jointly);
• $47,440 if you're claiming 2 qualifying children ($53,330 if filing jointly);
• $50,954 if you're claiming 3+ qualifying children ($56,844 if filing jointly).

Without looking at your return it is hard to see what was your Earned Income credit. However, there are many reasons why your refund could be less than what you expected, such as:

• Your Income Increased.
• One of your dependent turned 17.
• You did not qualified for the full amount of the Child Tax Credit. If you don't have any Tax liability you will only receive the additional Child Tax Credit. 
• You changed your Filing Status.
• You didn't qualify for the Earned Income credit. When you qualify, the credit amount will go up as you earn more income, but once you earn too much, it will go down eventually to zero. TurboTax will figure out exactly how much you’ll receive.