Decrease in return compared to last year

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 15, 2021
1 reply
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Why is my refund this year smaller than it was last year if my job and salary haven’t changed? The only difference is that my wife and I bought a house in 2020, but that wouldn’t cause it to change so much would it?

Not A Product Question

ReneeM7122

Without seeing your return for 2019 and 2020, it wouldn't be possible to know why your refund went down. It's possible that this year, you are itemizing due to the mortgage interest deductions.

If you have been claiming the standard deduction up until now, the extra write-offs from owning a home almost certainly will make you an itemizer. Suddenly, the state taxes you pay and your charitable donations will earn you tax-saving deductions, too. So make sure you know about all these breaks that may now be available to you:

Here is a TurboTax article about new home ownership and tax breaks.

There are other things that can come into play to change your refund. You can request an offline review for a deeper look into your return and your refund.