This happened to me last year! Check if your company has something called "salary continuation" or "tax equalization" in their benefits package. My company had this policy where if they made a payroll error that resulted in employee tax liability, they would cover the difference. I discovered this buried in our employee handbook after a similar withholding issue. HR initially tried to say I was responsible, but once I pointed to their own policy, they covered the entire amount I owed plus penalties.

I'm dealing with something very similar right now - employer error on withholding that left me with a huge tax bill. One thing that helped me was documenting EVERYTHING. Take photos of both W4 forms, print out every paystub showing zero withholding, and create a timeline of when you submitted the correct form versus when the error should have been caught. Also, don't forget that you can request penalty relief from the IRS through Form 843 if you can show "reasonable cause" - which employer error definitely qualifies for. The fact that you have a properly completed W4 on file is strong evidence that this wasn't your fault. I'd also suggest asking your employer to provide a letter on company letterhead acknowledging their error and explaining what happened. This documentation can be crucial if the IRS questions your penalty abatement request. Most companies will do this if they realize they made a mistake, especially when presented with clear evidence like you have. Stay strong - this is stressful but definitely resolvable with the right approach!

This TurboTax claim bugs me so much. Here's what's really happening: - TurboTax partners with SBTPG (Santa Barbara Tax Products Group) - When the IRS releases your refund, it goes to SBTPG - SBTPG takes out TurboTax fees if you chose that option - SBTPG sends the remainder to your bank Sometimes this process happens quickly and you get your money before the official DDD. But other times, SBTPG sits on it for days. I've had clients get refunds LATER than their DDD because of this middleman step. The most reliable way is to pay TurboTax fees upfront and have your refund sent directly from IRS to your bank.

Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like TurboTax's "up to 5 days early" claim is pretty misleading. Since you chose to have fees deducted from your refund, your money has to go through SBTPG first before reaching your bank account. From what I'm reading, most people in this situation get their refunds 2-3 days early at best, not the full 5 days TurboTax advertises. Your $3,780 refund will likely arrive somewhere between October 25th-27th if the pattern holds true. The exact timing depends on how quickly SBTPG processes it and your bank's deposit policies. You can track it on the SBTPG website (taxpayer.sbtpg.com) as someone mentioned earlier - that might give you a better idea of when to expect it than just relying on the IRS WMR tool. Next year you might want to consider paying the TurboTax fees upfront to avoid the middleman delay and extra convenience fee!

Just want to add something important: make sure your employer is withholding taxes correctly for both states if needed! My company messed this up last year and I ended up owing a huge amount to one state because they were only withholding for my "home" state. Talk to your payroll department and make sure they understand your situation. You might need to fill out multiple state withholding forms.

This is such a complex area and you're smart to get clarity upfront! One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is keeping detailed records of your activities and connections in each state. The IRS and state tax authorities look at what's called "domiciliary factors" - things like where you vote, where your bank accounts are, where you have professional licenses, where your family lives, etc. Since you mentioned State B is where your "roots" are and where you plan to return permanently, make sure all these connections stay tied to State B. Don't change your voter registration or driver's license to State A just for convenience. Also, if you end up needing to file in both states, most tax software can handle multi-state returns, but it gets complicated fast. The credit calculations between states can be tricky, especially if one state doesn't give full credit for taxes paid to the other. Document everything - where you sleep each night, work performed in each location, etc. It might seem excessive now, but if you ever get audited, having contemporaneous records is invaluable.

$20,677 is definitely on the higher end, but not impossible for 2021 COVID situations. A few things to consider: 1. **Verify your entries** - Since you mentioned being sick and having to close your business, make sure you correctly entered: - Sick leave credits for self-employed individuals - Business loss calculations - Any Employee Retention Credits if applicable 2. **Use TurboTax's built-in tools** - You mentioned having Priority Support right there on your dashboard. Their review service might be worth it for this amount. 3. **Document everything** - Keep records of your business closure dates, medical documentation for your illness, and any other supporting documents. 4. **Consider a second opinion** - For a refund this large, it might be worth having a tax professional review your return before submitting. The fact that TurboTax calculated this specific amount based on your inputs is a good sign, but double-checking never hurts when we're talking about $20K+. Better to be thorough now than deal with IRS questions later!

That $20,677 amount definitely warrants careful review! As someone who's been through amended returns, I'd suggest a systematic approach: **Before submitting:** - Use TurboTax's "Review" feature to go through each section line by line - Pay special attention to Schedule C (business income/loss) and any COVID-related credits - Verify your 2021 business closure dates match what you entered **Key areas to double-check:** - Self-employed sick leave credit calculations (up to $511/day for qualifying days) - Net Operating Loss (NOL) carrybacks if your business had significant losses - Recovery Rebate Credits if you missed any stimulus payments - Premium Tax Credits if you had marketplace health insurance **Red flags to avoid:** - Mixing personal and business expenses - Incorrect dates for your illness/closure period - Double-counting any relief payments you already received Given the amount, I'd honestly recommend using both TurboTax's Priority Support AND getting a quick second opinion from a local tax pro. The peace of mind is worth it for a potential $20K refund. Most CPAs will do a quick review consultation for $100-200, which is nothing compared to potential headaches if there's an error. The IRS is definitely scrutinizing large refunds more closely, especially COVID-related ones, so having everything bulletproof is crucial.

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I was in the exact same boat as the original poster - getting those $375 monthly payments and panicking about whether I'd owe money at tax time. After reading through everyone's experiences, I decided to take action on my W-4. I calculated that since I'm receiving $2,250 in advance payments (6 months × $375), but my current W-4 was already reducing my withholding by assuming I'd get a $2,000 credit at filing time, I needed to increase my additional withholding. I ended up adding $190 per month to line 4(c) on my W-4 to account for this. The math was basically: the $2,000 my W-4 was already accounting for, divided by 12 pay periods, equals about $167 per month that was being under-withheld. Plus a little extra buffer for safety. My advice to anyone in this situation: don't wait until tax season to figure this out. Review your most recent pay stub, look at your year-to-date withholding, and consider whether you need to submit a new W-4. It's much better to adjust now than face a big tax bill in April!

I just wanted to chime in as someone who was completely lost on this topic a few weeks ago. Reading through this thread has been a huge help, and I think I've finally got my head wrapped around the whole situation. The key insight for me was realizing that this isn't really about "double-dipping" - it's about timing. The government expanded the Child Tax Credit and decided to pay half of it in advance rather than making everyone wait until tax filing season. That's actually pretty helpful for families who need the cash flow now. The real issue is that most of our W-4 forms were filled out before these advance payments started, so they don't account for the new reality. I ended up calling my HR department to ask about submitting an updated W-4, and they said they've been getting a lot of questions about this exact scenario. For anyone still trying to figure out the math: I found it helpful to look at my 2024 tax return to see exactly how much Child Tax Credit I claimed, then compare that to what I'm receiving in advance payments. The difference helped me understand how much additional withholding I might need. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - if you're married and both spouses work, make sure you coordinate any W-4 changes. We almost both adjusted our withholding and would have ended up over-withholding significantly!