Did my tax guy mess up my 1040? Only $280 refund on $77k W-2 income??

But wouldn't most people have some deductions that would increase their refund? Like student loan interest or something? I made about the same and got back nearly $2k.

That's a good point! Most people do have some deductions that could increase their refund. The key difference is individual circumstances - if you had student loan interest, mortgage interest, significant charitable donations, or qualified for certain credits, you'd see a bigger refund. Without those additional deductions, the tax withholding tables are designed to be fairly accurate for standard situations. The $2k you received likely reflects deductions or credits you qualified for that the original poster might not have. If they have any of these potential deductions, it would definitely be worth asking their tax preparer or getting a second opinion.

Does it actually check EVERYTHING? Like can it find stuff a human might miss? And how fast does it give you results?

I'm a little skeptical. Doesn't sound any different than just using TurboTax or something. How's it actually better than regular tax software?

It checks all the major stuff that could affect your refund - deductions, credits, filing status advantages, and withholding calculations. The AI is specifically looking for discrepancies and missed opportunities that even professionals sometimes overlook. Results usually come in less than an hour for standard returns. The difference from regular tax software is that you've already filed - this is like an audit of your completed return to verify everything was done correctly. It's more of a double-check system than a filing system. It'll specifically tell you if your preparer missed something significant or if everything looks correct.

Wait how does that even work? I thought the IRS phone system was just eternally broken and nobody could get through. Are they like hacking the phone system or something??

Yeah right. Nothing gets you through to the IRS faster. I'll believe it when I see it. The IRS probably has like 3 people answering phones for the entire country.

It's not hacking - they use a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when they reach a human. Completely legitimate. They basically have technology that continually redials and navigates the system until they break through, then they transfer the call to you. No, the IRS actually has lots of agents answering phones, but the call volume is astronomical. The problem is getting through the queue. This service just handles the hours of hold time and busy signals for you. And yes, it really works - I was super skeptical too until I tried it.

How do you check if you're withholding the right amount? I always get really small refunds too and I'm never sure if that's good or bad.

The IRS has a tax withholding estimator on their website that's actually pretty accurate. You input your income, filing status, and other tax situations, and it tells you if you're on track. You can adjust your W-4 anytime with your employer if you want a bigger refund (more withholding) or more money in each paycheck (less withholding). Small refunds are technically better financially because you've had access to more of your money throughout the year instead of waiting for a refund. But some people prefer larger refunds as a form of forced savings.

It really depends entirely on how much was withheld from each paycheck though. You probably just had more withheld throughout the year.

True, withholding makes all the difference. My job tends to withhold a bit more than necessary. I also contribute to a traditional 401k which lowers my taxable income pretty significantly, forgot to mention that. That probably explains the difference between our refund amounts. Might be worth checking if you have any retirement contributions or other pre-tax deductions that could have been missed.