returns not as much as turbotax said they would be

[jesussoldier]

so turbo tax said i was supposed to get X amount, but i ended up getting less than X/2 on my federal returns. i don't have any kind of tax debt or anything like that and my state returns were already done beforehand, so i know it wasn't them. do they ever break up the federal returns?

 

[rob_roy]

@jesussoldier You are talking about your refund. A ‘return’ is the forms you send to the IRS. The money you get back is a refund.

In either case, it sounds like the IRS made an adjustment. Recovery Rebate Credits (stimulus) are often the reason. Offsets for past due taxes or unpaid student loans can also be a reason. They will send a letter explaining. You can also check your transcript online if you already have an IRS account. If not, you will probably find it’s very difficult to do from abroad.