I got my tax refund today--and it doesn't match what I filed!

[bmr12]

This is a first for me. I filed my federal income tax for 2023 in early February using my free-from-Fidelity copy of TurboTax. Today I received my refund and it is exactly $800 less than I was expecting. I've received no communication from TurboTax or the IRS as to why this might be.

I went back to my return and double-checked my data entry on 1099s and W-2s with withholding and found no errors. I looked for anything with round numbers (especially 800) and didn't find anything. So that means for some reason the IRS thinks I owe exactly $800 more in tax than my return indicated?

Anybody else with this experience? Seems like all I can do right now is wait for the letter from the IRS.

[Atlantic_ave]

Last year I got a refund higher than expected. I could never understand why, and I checked everything. They never sent me a letter. I went through all the transcripts without success.
I guess maybe I would have called if the difference was not in my favor.

[finfire]

I hope you get it figured out/resolved.

Its a reminder to me of the advantage of using a cpa. I used file my own, but I've used a cpa for past 10+ years. In that time we were pestered by the IRS 3 times and all we had to do was let the cpa deal with it....and the cost is not that much to use the cpa.

Good luck!

[KeepItSimpleSomehow]

https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season- ... nt%20loans.

QUOTE:

Why is my refund different than the amount on the tax return I filed? (updated December 22, 2023)

All or part of your refund may be offset to pay off past-due federal tax, state income tax, state unemployment compensation debts, child support, spousal support, or other federal nontax debts, such as student loans. To find out if you may have an offset or if you have questions about an offset, contact the agency to which you owe the debt.

We also may have changed your refund amount because we made changes to your tax return. You'll get a notice explaining the changes. Where's My Refund? (link above) will reflect a refund offset and different refund amount when it relates to a change in your tax return.

[arcticpineapplecorp.]

in the rare occasion when there's been a discrepancy, regardless of whether in my favor or not, they processed my return originally and then later sent me a letter telling me there was an error and the amount, and I had a right to appeal, etc.

that hasn't happened for a long time, so perhaps their process has changed.

Best to call and have them explain the discrepancy.

[barnaclebob]

I think I once randomly got an exact $1200 treasury dept check and couldn't figure out what I did wrong on my taxes. A few months later the IRS sent a letter telling me why. I expect you'll get one of those letters eventually.

Turned out I forgot to enter an estimated tax payment on my return.

[LotsaGray]

Did you make any estimated payments of $800 that maybe did not happen or did not get credited? Any simple math errors?

Round number differences like this are usually something like that. So that is where I would look. But also review your transcript with IRS.

[dual]

Seems like all I can do right now is wait for the letter from the IRS.

For situations like this and others, it is worthwhile to go through the id.me hassle and set up an account for yourself at irs.gov. Iirc you can look up the “transcript” of your return.

BTW did you efile?

[Rotarman]

I’d wait a week or two for a letter in the mail. I had this happen when an account was in my wife’s maiden name so they couldn’t find it and they redid my taxes denying us the credit. I sent the documentation they asked for in the letter and we later received a second credit for the difference.

[jebmke]

I think I once randomly got an exact $1200 treasury dept check and couldn't figure out what I did wrong on my taxes. A few months later the IRS sent a letter telling me why. I expect you'll get one of those letters eventually.

Turned out I forgot to enter an estimated tax payment on my return.

That happened to me. I had thought I had skipped Q4 (I often do if my proforma changes in Dec.) but I had forgotten to cancel the EFTPS debit.

[senex]

As others have said, it is helpful to request your "tax transcript." You can request online or over the phone (the phone can have long wait times).

Last time I requested a transcript it was difficult to read -- it contains approximately the same information as your tax return, but in a different and somewhat confusing format. Essentially it contains the values that the IRS thinks are correct. By comparing the IRS's values to your values, I'd expect you could find the discrepancy.

For what it's worth, the one time I did so, the discrepancy was due to an IRS calculation error. It took several letters to convince them of their error, with my final one essentially defending myself line-by-line: "my value for line 12 is correct because it contains W2 box 3. My value for line 13 is correct because it correctly subtracts line 11 from line 12." etc. They eventually agreed with me and paid my full expected return, plus interest on the amount they had withheld.

Best wishes.

[LuckyInLife]

Did you make any estimated payments of $800 that maybe did not happen or did not get credited? Any simple math errors?

Round number differences like this are usually something like that. So that is where I would look. But also review your transcript with IRS.

One year I accidentally selected the wrong tax year for my final estimated tax payment, so it was credited to the current year instead of the previous year. I then owed that amount on the taxes filed, but was able to adjust my current year tax payments.

[cranberrycrash]

Last year my taxes were a bit complicated, as my income changed dramatically due to an inherited IRA distribution, and I withheld way too much. So I was owed like $15,000 as a tax refund. And I got something very small... like $1,000.

They just didn't process my withholding, even though all of the appropriate documentation was provided. Took about 5 or 6 months to get the refund, which came with interest.

[toddthebod]

You should receive a letter explaining it soon. You can also check your transcript see where the discrepancy is.

What credits did you claim?

[tibbitts]

I hope you get it figured out/resolved.

Its a reminder to me of the advantage of using a cpa. I used file my own, but I've used a cpa for past 10+ years. In that time we were pestered by the IRS 3 times and all we had to do was let the cpa deal with it....and the cost is not that much to use the cpa.

Good luck!

What is "not that much", and what forms (federal and state) are included for "not that much"?

[Chv396]

On last year’s tax return (tax year 2022), I received a roughly $50 larger refund than what I filed. No explanation from the IRS. I used TurboTax also. Some area was likely miscalculated.

[toddthebod]

On last year’s tax return (tax year 2022), I received a roughly $50 larger refund than what I filed. No explanation from the IRS. I used TurboTax also. Some area was likely miscalculated.

Did you check your return transcript? It lists, line by line, every number from your return and the IRS calculated number for that line.

[bmr12]

Thank you all. I didn't know viewing a transcript was a thing I could do, so that was very helpful.

What triggered the $800 deduction was a mistake I made in paying quarterly estimated taxes. I fat fingered the amount that I entered and instead of $4,000, I entered $40,000. When I realized the day before what I had done when I saw the EFT pending in my account, I wired money to get into that checking account the next day (same day as the estimated tax EFT). But it didn't post in time, and the EFT for estimated taxes was rejected by my bank. So it apparently counts as a "dishonored payment" and the penalty is 2%. Now I get to write a groveling letter explaining my stupidity and try to get them to reverse the charge.

[Chv396]

Ahh, I never knew a “return transcript” existed. Looks like I can access them online via the IRS website.

Thanks for the information.

On last year’s tax return (tax year 2022), I received a roughly $50 larger refund than what I filed. No explanation from the IRS. I used TurboTax also. Some area was likely miscalculated.

Did you check your return transcript? It lists, line by line, every number from your return and the IRS calculated number for that line.

[RyeBourbon]

Thank you all. I didn't know viewing a transcript was a thing I could do, so that was very helpful.

What triggered the $800 deduction was a mistake I made in paying quarterly estimated taxes. I fat fingered the amount that I entered and instead of $4,000, I entered $40,000. When I realized the day before what I had done when I saw the EFT pending in my account, I wired money to get into that checking account the next day (same day as the estimated tax EFT). But it didn't post in time, and the EFT for estimated taxes was rejected by my bank. So it apparently counts as a "dishonored payment" and the penalty is 2%. Now I get to write a groveling letter explaining my stupidity and try to get them to reverse the charge.

Wow, plot twist!

[yankees60]

Thank you all. I didn't know viewing a transcript was a thing I could do, so that was very helpful.

What triggered the $800 deduction was a mistake I made in paying quarterly estimated taxes. I fat fingered the amount that I entered and instead of $4,000, I entered $40,000. When I realized the day before what I had done when I saw the EFT pending in my account, I wired money to get into that checking account the next day (same day as the estimated tax EFT). But it didn't post in time, and the EFT for estimated taxes was rejected by my bank. So it apparently counts as a "dishonored payment" and the penalty is 2%. Now I get to write a groveling letter explaining my stupidity and try to get them to reverse the charge.

Wow, plot twist!

Like the TV show or movie where you never saw it coming!

[RetiredAL]

Wow -- That's way worse than the time I clicked the wrong tabs in billpay and sent $3000 that was supposed to go to American Express to the water company.

The water company CSR first said they didn't issue refunds, that it would be applied toward future bills. When I said that was 6+ years worth of usage, she relented transferred me to someone else who got a refund issued. In the meantime I had to scamper to get money to A/E quickly to avoid a late payment penalty.

I still today, some 20 years later, worry about fat-fingering entries. Since then all entries for billpays, $ transfers, or Brokerage buys go thru a triple check process.

[jebmke]

Wow -- That's way worse than the time I clicked the wrong tabs in billpay and sent $3000 that was supposed to go to American Express to the water company.

The water company CSR first said they didn't issue refunds, that it would be applied toward future bills. When I said that was 6+ years worth of usage, she relented transferred me to someone else who got a refund issued. In the meantime I had to scamper to get money to A/E quickly to avoid a late payment penalty.

I still today, some 20 years later, worry about fat-fingering entries. Since then all entries for billpays, $ transfers, or Brokerage buys go thru a triple check process.

Years ago we had an order entry error. We sold a special cable for conveyor automation jobs in 1,000 foot lots. Someone wanted a thousand feet so they ordered 1,000 instead of 1.

[RetiredAL]

Wow -- That's way worse than the time I clicked the wrong tabs in billpay and sent $3000 that was supposed to go to American Express to the water company.

The water company CSR first said they didn't issue refunds, that it would be applied toward future bills. When I said that was 6+ years worth of usage, she relented transferred me to someone else who got a refund issued. In the meantime I had to scamper to get money to A/E quickly to avoid a late payment penalty.

I still today, some 20 years later, worry about fat-fingering entries. Since then all entries for billpays, $ transfers, or Brokerage buys go thru a triple check process.

Years ago we had an order entry error. We sold a special cable for conveyor automation jobs in 1,000 foot lots. Someone wanted a thousand feet so they ordered 1,000 instead of 1.

Oops happen. We had one where a conversion factor (Roll to Sqft) for a new stores-code was entered wrong. The first production run booked for billions, more than the total sales for the company in a year. A Divisional Accountant saw the production order had cost something like $40,000,000, which didn't pass the smell test and called us. They were missing some truncated leading digits. It was something like $5,040,000,000. First time I ever saw a Division Accountant get really excited. No one person had enough access rights to fix it. It took 4 of us to fix it.

I always worry when buy I T-bills, as 40 is 40x$1000, $40K.

[secondcor521]

I used to work for a regional bank in their IT department. It was fun to see the problems we got to see.

One time a teller entered a deposit wrong. Instead of $7.63 it was entered as $763,000,000 or something insane. Nobody had the privileges to change it right away, so the bank had to talk to the customer and ask them to just hold tight for a few days and not spend it all. We had to write a special program to put in an accounting entry to reverse it I think.

This was back when we ran all the programs overnight on a mainframe: Someone made a mistake, and in the process of backing up in the process steps they did a second something wrong. The result was that everyone who had a checking account and a mortgage at our bank made their monthly mortgage payment twice. Thankfully they caught the set of cascading errors and were able to fix it before opening the next morning.

[e5116]

I used to work for a regional bank in their IT department. It was fun to see the problems we got to see.

One time a teller entered a deposit wrong. Instead of $7.63 it was entered as $763,000,000 or something insane. Nobody had the privileges to change it right away, so the bank had to talk to the customer and ask them to just hold tight for a few days and not spend it all. We had to write a special program to put in an accounting entry to reverse it I think.

This was back when we ran all the programs overnight on a mainframe: Someone made a mistake, and in the process of backing up in the process steps they did a second something wrong. The result was that everyone who had a checking account and a mortgage at our bank made their monthly mortgage payment twice. Thankfully they caught the set of cascading errors and were able to fix it before opening the next morning.

I've read news articles about individuals that have been prosecuted criminally for spending money that hits their banking account in error. So, good on the customer, but also legally enforceable.

[talzara]

What triggered the $800 deduction was a mistake I made in paying quarterly estimated taxes. I fat fingered the amount that I entered and instead of $4,000, I entered $40,000. When I realized the day before what I had done when I saw the EFT pending in my account, I wired money to get into that checking account the next day (same day as the estimated tax EFT). But it didn't post in time, and the EFT for estimated taxes was rejected by my bank. So it apparently counts as a "dishonored payment" and the penalty is 2%. Now I get to write a groveling letter explaining my stupidity and try to get them to reverse the charge.

You should wait until after you have received letter 608C to request abatement of the penalty:

The IRS can abate (remove) this penalty in certain circumstances. You may request penalty abatement by providing an explanation or evidence that it was reasonable to expect that the payment would be honored. You must make this request in writing and should only do it after you've received the Letter 608C notifying you of a penalty assessment.

https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc206

[bmr12]

You should wait until after you have received letter 608C to request abatement of the penalty:

Thanks. I’m waiting—it’s been about seven weeks so far. Any idea how long this takes (and yeah, I know it is the government).

[talzara]

Thanks. I’m waiting—it’s been about seven weeks so far. Any idea how long this takes (and yeah, I know it is the government).

No, but I'd wait until June.

[White Coat Investor]

This is a first for me. I filed my federal income tax for 2023 in early February using my free-from-Fidelity copy of TurboTax. Today I received my refund and it is exactly $800 less than I was expecting. I've received no communication from TurboTax or the IRS as to why this might be.

I went back to my return and double-checked my data entry on 1099s and W-2s with withholding and found no errors. I looked for anything with round numbers (especially 800) and didn't find anything. So that means for some reason the IRS thinks I owe exactly $800 more in tax than my return indicated?

Anybody else with this experience? Seems like all I can do right now is wait for the letter from the IRS.

I've had the opposite happen, but not that. Couldn't really figure out why. Didn't bother for long. My attitude toward tax paying has become less black and white over the years. There's a lot of "good enough" in my mind these days. I've probably overpaid some years and underpaid others. I do the best I can and if the IRS has a problem with it they can come talk to me about it over donuts. Or we'll do the penpal thing for 6-12 months if they want. I've done that 2 or 3 times too.

[finfire]

I hope you get it figured out/resolved.

Its a reminder to me of the advantage of using a cpa. I used file my own, but I've used a cpa for past 10+ years. In that time we were pestered by the IRS 3 times and all we had to do was let the cpa deal with it....and the cost is not that much to use the cpa.

Good luck!

What is "not that much", and what forms (federal and state) are included for "not that much"?

$350 for 34 forms , federal only. This year was a little bit more complex. Typically it is $300 and hasn't changed much.

[tibbitts]

I hope you get it figured out/resolved.

Its a reminder to me of the advantage of using a cpa. I used file my own, but I've used a cpa for past 10+ years. In that time we were pestered by the IRS 3 times and all we had to do was let the cpa deal with it....and the cost is not that much to use the cpa.

Good luck!

What is "not that much", and what forms (federal and state) are included for "not that much"?

$350 for 34 forms , federal only. This year was a little bit more complex. Typically it is $300 and hasn't changed much.

Wow that sounds like an extreme bargain. I'm guessing you might need a relatively expensive software package for all those forms. I only have 6 or 7 forms usually. I wouldn't be shocked if someone paid 5x that much or more.

[bmr12]

Thanks. I’m waiting—it’s been about seven weeks so far. Any idea how long this takes (and yeah, I know it is the government).

No, but I'd wait until June.

I'm bumping my original thread here. Even though it has now been 4.5 months, I've never received anything from the IRS about this. I'd still like to plead my case for a reduced penalty. Any ideas where or who I might write to do so?

Thanks!

[talzara]

I'm bumping my original thread here. Even though it has now been 4.5 months, I've never received anything from the IRS about this. I'd still like to plead my case for a reduced penalty. Any ideas where or who I might write to do so?

Form 843 is the request for abatement of penalties. Explain briefly on on line 7 what happened:

• You only owed $4,000 in estimated taxes, but you entered $40,000 by mistake.
• After the $40,000 bounced, you paid the correct $4,000.
• Request abatement of the $800 penalty.

Enclose a copy of your account transcript, and highlight the $4,000 that you paid. They can see your account on their computer, but drawing their attention to the $4,000 payment will make it easier to see that $40,000 was a typo.

[MarkNYC]

If the IRS assesses a penalty for a check/payment that was dishonored, the IRS may abate the penalty if the taxpayer can demonstrate that the payment was made in good faith and believed there were sufficient funds in the account to cover the payment. Or for other "reasonable cause". The IRS will generally consider reasonable cause to exist if the taxpayer can show ordinary business care and prudence.

A number of years ago I sent the IRS an estimated payment of about $2K. A day or two after mailing, my bank informed me of some suspected fraud activity on my account, causing the bank to freeze the account then close it. So the check bounced. After receiving the IRS penalty notice, I sent them a penalty abatement request, explaining the situation. I don't recall what, if any, supporting documentation I may have included. A few weeks later I received the IRS response denying my penalty abatement request. Since the penalty was only about $40 I chose not to pursue it further, even though the IRS decision was clearly wrong.

Your penalty is large enough to justify a request for abatement. But it's questionable whether a payment that was mistakenly 10 times larger than intended will be seen by the IRS as the exercise of ordinary care and prudence. A copy of the penalty Letter 608C should be included with the penalty abatement request. If you don't have it, that will not help your chances for success.
Give it your best shot. Hopefully your result will be better than the one I experienced.

[bmr12]

I thought I would follow up here with the conclusion to this story.

I never received a letter from the IRS, so I just submitted Form 843 per the suggestion here and mailed it off.

A few weeks later I got a letter saying they'd approved my request, and my refund check would be along shortly. Yesterday I deposited that check, which included interest on the $800!

Thanks to those here who helped me in this thread because I learned about things with the IRS that I had never previously known.

[devillif311]

I thought I would follow up here with the conclusion to this story.

I never received a letter from the IRS, so I just submitted Form 843 per the suggestion here and mailed it off.

A few weeks later I got a letter saying they'd approved my request, and my refund check would be along shortly. Yesterday I deposited that check, which included interest on the $800!

Thanks to those here who helped me in this thread because I learned about things with the IRS that I had never previously known.

Glad you got it fixed! Sometimes it can be frustrating dealing with the IRS (and government in general).

[nisiprius]

I've read news articles about individuals that have been prosecuted criminally for spending money that hits their banking account in error. So, good on the customer, but also legally enforceable.

Hasbro really ought to retire the "Bank Error In Your Favor--Collect $200" Community Chest card in Monopoly. It teaches a misleading lesson. Either that, or add a rule that you need to pay the $200 back the next time you pass "Go."

[glitchy]

Hasbro really ought to retire the "Bank Error In Your Favor--Collect $200" Community Chest card in Monopoly. It teaches a misleading lesson. Either that, or add a rule that you need to pay the $200 back the next time you pass "Go."

I dunno, I had a $100 bank error in my favor once on a withdrawal, and they called me a while later. I heard the message that evening and (after inspecting my stack of hundreds and finding, indeed, one extra) called back the next day and they said they'd already settled the day's accounts and eaten the loss and thanks for calling but don't worry about it.

Never in a billion years would I expect that from the IRS. I suppose anything is possible, though! Still, while I have had a number of interactions with IRS employees that were surprisingly positive and useful but I'd never have characterized them as generous.

[Regal 56]

Never in a billion years would I expect that from the IRS. I suppose anything is possible, though! Still, while I have had a number of interactions with IRS employees that were surprisingly positive and useful but I'd never have characterized them as generous.

The OP corrected the error in good faith, submitted the correct form (thanks to talzara’s suggestion), and likely behaved in a civil manner. We often underestimate the power of doing things the right way.

Congrats to the OP, and all those who helped.