How to Check if I Paid for TurboTax Refund Advance?
Is there a way to find out if you paid to get your refund early from TT? I literally can't remember if I did or not. I checked my account on the TurboTax portal but don't see any breakdown of the refund advance fees. I'm trying to reconcile why my actual refund deposit was lower than the expected amount on my 1040. I know there's a difference between the Refund Advance loan and the Refund Processing fee, but I can't remember which option I selected during filing. Any TT power users know where to find this info?
14 comments
Adriana Cohn
There are several ways to verify if you paid for TurboTax's Refund Advance: • Check your TurboTax order confirmation email - it should list all services you paid for • Log into your TurboTax account and view your order history/receipt • Review your bank statement from when you filed - look for charges from TurboTax • Examine Form 8888 in your tax return copy - it would show if funds were split • Contact TurboTax support directly with your account info I'm skeptical of the "easy" methods people suggest since TT doesn't always make this transparent. The most definitive way is checking your actual return documents.
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Jace Caspullo
OMG I had the EXACT same issue last yr! Couldn't figure out why my refund was like $89 less than expected. Turns out I accidentally clicked the refund advance option. I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my return docs and it flagged the fee right away. It highlighted the section on my 8879 form where the refund processing was authorized. Def worth a look if u still have ur docs. Super impressed how it caught something I totally missed!
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Melody Miles
I'm not convinced another tool is necessary here. Couldn't you just look at your tax documents directly? TurboTax should have provided a breakdown of all fees in your order confirmation. That's what I'd check first before trying yet another service.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
I'm... not sure about using another service, but maybe it helps? I've been trying to find this information on my own tax documents and it's not very clear. Maybe I'll look into this if I can't figure it out on my own...
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Eva St. Cyr
Had this happen to me. Refund was $39 less. Called TurboTax. They confirmed the fee. It was for refund processing. Different from the advance loan. Easy to miss during filing. Small print gets you. Wasn't worth the faster processing honestly.
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Kristian Bishop
Did TurboTax explain where specifically in your account you can see this fee breakdown? I'm wondering if there's a specific section in the account where all these charges are itemized?
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Kaitlyn Otto
I just checked my email from April 15, 2024 and found the receipt! It was in a separate email titled "Your TurboTax Order" not in the "Your tax return has been accepted" email. Such a relief to finally find this!
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Axel Far
This is extremely helpful information. According to IRS Publication 1345 (Rev. 2-2023), tax preparation services are required to clearly disclose all fees related to refund products. If you can't locate this information in your documentation, it may constitute a violation of disclosure requirements.
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Jasmine Hernandez
Would you say it's worth calling them directly? Or is checking emails and the online account enough to find this information? I'm trying to be thorough about my record-keeping this year.
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Luis Johnson
Be careful about these fees - they're often not clearly disclosed. According to IRS Circular 230 §10.31, tax preparers must fully disclose all charges and fees. TurboTax typically offers three options: 1. Refund Advance - an actual loan (0% interest but may have fees) 2. Refund Processing - fee to get refund on prepaid card (usually $39-49) 3. Refund Transfer - fee to pay TurboTax fees from your refund (usually $39) If you can't locate documentation, request a complete account transcript from TurboTax customer service. You have a right to this information under Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations.
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Ellie Kim
This exact situation happened to me. I specifically asked TurboTax about the fee discrepancy and got transferred 3 times before someone finally explained the Refund Processing fee wasn't the same as their Advance product. The terminology is deliberately confusing IMO. I've switched to FreeTaxUSA because of this - they're much more transparent with their fee structure.
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Fiona Sand
Last year I had a similar issue with TT fees and needed to talk to someone at TurboTax to get it sorted. Spent days trying their customer service line with no luck. Finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual person at TT customer service. They confirmed I had paid for the refund advance and showed me exactly where to find the receipt in my account. Saved me hours of waiting on hold and the agent walked me through finding all my past fees. Worth it when you need answers fast.
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Mohammad Khaled
I had this exact problem last filing season! I dug through my emails and found that TurboTax actually sends a separate receipt email that shows all the add-on services. Mine was titled "Your TurboTax Order Receipt" and came right after I filed. It showed I paid $39.99 for the "Refund Processing Service" which I definitely didn't intentionally select. I called them and explained I didn't mean to add this service, and surprisingly, they refunded me the full amount! Worth checking your email archive or spam folder for that receipt.
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Alina Rosenthal
Compared to H&R Block's transparency, TurboTax is surprisingly vague about these fees. I found my refund advance info by downloading my complete tax return PDF from my TurboTax account and looking at the very last pages where they include the "Refund Authorization Form." It clearly showed I authorized a $39.99 fee for processing. Much easier than trying to decipher their online account interface or hunting through emails. It's crazy how much harder TurboTax makes this compared to other tax services!
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