Never received STATE tax refunds but always get FEDERAL - what's going on?
I've filed my taxes for several years now and I always get my federal refund but never see my state refund hit my account. Is there something I'm missing? Starting to think something is wrong here cause this keeps happening every year.
19 comments
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Honorah King
This could be happening for several reasons. First, check if you actually have a state tax liability - some states don't have income tax. Second, make sure you're actually filing state returns and not just federal. Third, verify your state filing status and withholdings on your W-2. You might not be having enough withheld to qualify for a refund, or you might even owe money.
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Brielle Johnson
•omg i didnt even know some states dont have income tax?? which ones?
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Honorah King
•Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming don't have state income tax. New Hampshire only taxes investment income.
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Oliver Brown
I've been using taxr.ai to analyze my transcripts and it's been a game changer for understanding both federal and state tax situations. It costs $1 but totally worth it to get a clear picture of what's happening with your refunds. Check it out: https://taxr.ai
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Mary Bates
•Does it actually work? Sounds too good to be true tbh 🤔
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Oliver Brown
•100% works! It caught an error in my state filing that was causing delays. The AI explains everything in plain English
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Mary Bates
•just tried it and WOW! wish i knew about this sooner, saved me hours of confusion 💯
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Clay blendedgen
bruh check your state's tax website. each state has their own portal where u can see whats up with ur refund
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Ayla Kumar
This happened to me and turns out I had an old parking ticket that they were taking the money for lol. Check if your state is garnishing for any reason
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Lorenzo McCormick
•same! they took mine for unpaid toll fees i forgot about 🤡
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Carmella Popescu
who did ur taxes? if u used turbotax or something make sure u actually submitted the state return. sometimes ppl only submit federal thinking its all done
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Brielle Johnson
•i used hr block... gonna check this rn
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Kai Santiago
Contact your state tax agency ASAP! Don't just assume its normal to never get state refunds. Could be identity theft or worse
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Lim Wong
•^^^^^ THIS! Better safe than sorry
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Molly Chambers
Check if your state has any offsets or debts that could be intercepting your refunds. Many states will automatically take refunds to pay off things like back taxes, child support, student loans, or even municipal fines. You can usually find an offset lookup tool on your state's tax website or call their customer service line to see if there are any holds on your account.
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Caesar Grant
•This is really helpful advice! I had no idea states could intercept refunds for so many different things. @c9ca11007d05 definitely check this - it could explain why your federal comes through but state doesn't. The offset lookup tool sounds like a great place to start!
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Romeo Barrett
Another thing to check - make sure you're actually owed a state refund! Sometimes people assume they should get money back but if you had minimal state withholding or live in a state with low tax rates, you might break even or even owe a small amount. Pull up your state return and look at the "refund" line - if it says $0 or shows you owe money, that explains it. Also double-check that your direct deposit info is correct for state vs federal - some tax software lets you use different accounts for each.
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NeonNomad
•This is exactly what I was wondering about! I never actually looked at the specific refund amount on my state return, just assumed I should be getting something back like with federal. Gonna pull up last year's return tonight and see what that line actually says. Thanks for the tip about checking if the direct deposit info is different too - I honestly can't remember if I used the same account for both!
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Lena Schultz
Have you checked if your state uses a different processing timeline than federal? Some states are notoriously slower - like California can take 6+ weeks while federal usually comes in 2-3 weeks. Also worth logging into your state tax agency's website to track your refund status. They usually have a "Where's My Refund" tool similar to the IRS. If it shows no record of your returns being filed, that's your smoking gun that something went wrong in the filing process.
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