Filed thru TT w/ 2 kids instead of 1 - refund says $10k vs usual $5-6k. Too high?

That does seem unusually high for your income level. According to the IRS.gov calculator, the Child Tax Credit is $2,000 per qualifying child for 2023 taxes (filing in 2024), so adding one child should typically add around $2,000 max to your refund, not double it. I'd carefully review your return on TurboTax to see if you accidentally claimed additional credits or deductions you didn't mean to. Look specifically at the Earned Income Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, and Recovery Rebate Credit sections to see what might be inflating your refund estimate.

Did you make any changes to your withholding last year? Or did you have any other significant life changes beyond adding another dependent? Here's what I would check: 1. Verify both children qualify as dependents under IRS rules 2. Check if your income dropped from previous years 3. Look at your W-4 withholding to see if you had less taken out 4. Review if you're suddenly eligible for additional credits 5. Double-check if you received any advance payments that should be subtracted Did you complete the entire review process in TurboTax?

I had almost the exact same situation last year! My refund estimate looked WAY too high and I was freaking out. I spent like 3 days trying to get through to the IRS helpline with no luck. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual agent in about 30 mins. Turns out I had accidentally claimed a credit twice. Saved me from a potential audit nightmare. Sometimes it's worth paying a little to get answers fast when the numbers look that off.

It might be worth noting that the Earned Income Tax Credit can increase significantly when you add a second qualifying child, especially in the income range you mentioned. For 2023 taxes, the maximum EITC with two qualifying children is around $6,164 compared to $3,995 with one child. If you're eligible for the full amount, this could potentially explain a large portion of the increase you're seeing.

Did you get any advance Child Tax Credit payments during 2023??? I'm asking because those would reduce your refund amount, not increase it! I'm so confused about how adding one child would DOUBLE your refund! 😮 Are you sure you didn't accidentally claim some education credits or something else?

I had a similar situation when I went from claiming one child to two last year. Think of your tax return like a recipe - changing just one ingredient can completely transform the outcome. In my case, adding the second child pushed me into a different EITC bracket, plus I qualified for additional child care credits I wasn't eligible for before. The tax code is like a series of dominos - one change can trigger several others. Double-check everything, but don't be shocked if it's legitimate. Just be prepared to document everything in case of an audit.

I experienced this exact scenario last tax season when I added my second dependent. The EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) has significant threshold increases with multiple qualifying dependents, especially in the $25k-$30k AGI range. My refund increased by approximately $4,200 from the previous year, primarily due to the EITC differential between one and two qualifying children. I was slightly concerned about potential IRS scrutiny, but everything processed without issues. I'd recommend reviewing the EITC calculation section in your TurboTax summary to verify the numbers.

Based on your income and situation, here's what might be happening: • EITC increases substantially with 2 qualifying children vs 1 • At $30k income with 2 kids, EITC could be around $5,900-6,100 • With 1 kid at same income, EITC is only about $3,900-4,000 • Child Tax Credit adds another $2,000 for the additional child • If you're self-employed, you might qualify for additional credits Before filing, I recommend: • Review the entire return line by line • Use TurboTax's explanation feature on any large credits • Compare with last year's return to spot differences • Print a copy of all supporting documentation