Nearly $3k difference between FreeTaxUSA and TurboTax results - all numbers seem to match?

Thanks for the detailed response! I do have some self-employment income this year (about $23k) and I have two kids so there are child tax credits involved. I also contributed about $4,500 to my IRA. I'll go through each section like you suggested and see if I can spot the difference. I was only looking at the federal refund amounts, so that's definitely not the issue. I just can't understand how the numbers could be so different when all the inputs seem identical!

Self-employment income with retirement contributions plus child tax credits gives us several possible culprits. First, check how each program is calculating your self-employment tax. There can be differences in how deductions against that income are applied. For the IRA contribution, verify if both programs are correctly applying any retirement savings credit you might qualify for, and also check if both are correctly reducing your taxable income by the IRA contribution amount. With children, make sure both programs are calculating the Child Tax Credit the same way. There were some changes to how this is calculated, and different software might handle it differently. Also check if one program is applying the Earned Income Credit and the other isn't.

That sounds interesting but I'm wondering how accurate it is? Like does it just compare the PDFs or does it actually understand tax rules to know which one is correct?

I'm intrigued but skeptical. How does it handle state returns? My federal returns usually match between software but my state calculations are always different and I never know which one is right.

It doesn't just compare PDFs - it actually understands the tax rules and flags which calculation is likely correct based on current tax law. The system shows you relevant IRS regulations for each discrepancy it finds. Much more helpful than just seeing differences without context. For state returns, it handles those too. It compares state-specific calculations and identifies which software is correctly applying your state's particular rules. Last year it caught that one program wasn't properly applying my state's student loan interest deduction, which the other program missed entirely.

Wait, is this legit? I've literally spent DAYS trying to get through to the IRS about my amended return. How does this actually work? Do they just have some special line to the IRS or something?

This sounds too good to be true. The IRS is notorious for wait times. If this worked, wouldn't everyone be using it? What's the catch here?

It's completely legitimate! They don't have a special line - they use the same phone system everyone else does, but they have an automated system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold so you don't have to. The way it works is you enter your phone number, and they call you only when they have an actual IRS agent on the line ready to talk to you. No more wasting hours on hold. I was skeptical too until I tried it. There's no catch really - they just solve a really frustrating problem. I think not everyone knows about it yet, but word is spreading because the service actually works.

This is super helpful! I just checked and you're right - it looks like TurboTax is calculating my Qualified Business Income deduction completely differently than FreeTaxUSA. That seems to be where most of the discrepancy is coming from. Now I just need to figure out which one is correct...

The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction is a common source of discrepancies! That's Section 199A, and it's fairly complex. The calculation can vary based on your total income, business type, and several other factors. To determine which is correct, check if your taxable income exceeds the threshold ($170,050 for single filers or $340,100 for joint filers in 2022). If you're over that, the calculation gets more complicated with phase-outs and limitations. If you're under, you should generally get a straightforward 20% deduction on your qualified business income. Also verify that both programs are classifying your business correctly - certain service businesses have different QBI rules than others.

This is the correct approach. I did this when I had a $1,500 discrepancy between TaxAct and H&R Block. Turned out H&R Block was incorrectly calculating my foreign tax credit. I printed both complete returns with all schedules and went through them with a highlighter. Found the difference on Form 1116.

That's a great suggestion! I just downloaded the PDF versions of the draft returns from both software and started comparing them. There's a huge difference on Schedule 1 - TurboTax is giving me a much larger deduction for my health insurance premiums as a self-employed person. I think FreeTaxUSA might be missing that entirely or calculating it wrong. Now I need to figure out which one is actually correct according to IRS rules!