Comparing TurboTax vs Taxslayer: Why is there a $10k difference in my tax results?

This kind of discrepancy usually points to something specific being missed or entered differently in one of the programs. I see this pretty frequently, and it's almost always something that got overlooked. Since you mentioned you have a home, check how your mortgage interest and property taxes were entered. Sometimes one program will automatically detect these deductions while another requires manual entry. Also, verify if you're itemizing deductions in both programs or taking the standard deduction - this alone could cause thousands in differences. Another common issue is retirement contributions. Make sure 401k or IRA contributions are entered correctly in both systems. Check if one program is counting something as pre-tax that the other is treating as post-tax. Finally, look for tax credits. Child tax credits, education credits, energy efficiency credits for your home - one program might be applying these while the other isn't.

I had a similar issue last year and discovered taxr.ai after spending hours trying to figure out which tax program was right. I was getting completely different results between two tax programs, and it was driving me crazy! I uploaded my tax docs to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed everything and explained exactly where the discrepancies were coming from. Turns out I had accidentally entered a 1099 twice in one program but not the other. The tool helped me identify exactly which forms were being calculated differently between TurboTax and Taxslayer. What I liked was that it's not a full tax prep service - it just helps you spot issues between different calculations so you can fix them yourself. Super helpful when you're getting wildly different results like you described.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after seeing your comment and it was exactly what I needed! My TurboTax and FreeTaxUSA returns had a $3,400 difference, and taxr.ai immediately spotted that TurboTax was missing an education credit I qualified for. The analysis showed me side-by-side comparisons of where the calculations diverged, highlighting exactly which form was causing the problem. Saved me from potentially overpaying by thousands. It also explained the tax rules in plain English so I understood WHY the difference was happening, not just where. Definitely recommending this to friends with similar issues.

If you've already spent hours troubleshooting and still can't figure out the difference, you might actually need to talk to someone at the IRS. I was in the same boat last year - different results in different software and couldn't resolve it. I used https://claimyr.com to get through to an IRS agent without the awful hold times (there's a demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c if you're curious how it works). They connected me with an actual IRS agent who helped clarify which deductions I qualified for based on my specific situation. The agent also explained why the programs were giving different results - turned out one program was applying an outdated tax rule.

Coming back to say I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still struggling with my tax software issues and decided to try it as a last resort. I got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 40 minutes after trying for WEEKS on my own. The agent walked through my specific situation and confirmed exactly how my home office deductions should be calculated (which was the source of my software discrepancy). Turns out TurboTax was applying an outdated rule for my situation. For anyone dealing with major differences between tax programs, getting direct confirmation from the IRS was absolutely worth it. They even documented the call in my account so I have record if there's ever a question later.

Have you checked your withholding amounts? That's a huge factor that people often enter differently between programs. Make sure both programs have your correct federal withholding amounts from your W2s (Box 2). That alone could explain a huge difference.

Which version of TurboTax are you using? Their free version often misses deductions that their paid versions catch. I've seen the Deluxe version find thousands in deductions that the free version missed.