TaxAct showing I owe Federal taxes when I should get a refund? Confused!

Your math looks correct to me. If your income is $43,380 (wages + interest), and you're subtracting the standard deduction and charitable contribution, your taxable income calculation makes sense. The most likely issue is that TaxAct hasn't properly applied your standard deduction yet. This is actually a common issue with tax software where certain deductions aren't calculated until you complete specific sections. Even though you're at the review screen, there might be a section you need to confirm or a question you need to answer before it applies the standard deduction. Before you panic about owing, try this: go back to the deductions section and verify that you've selected to take the standard deduction rather than itemize. Sometimes the software defaults to itemizing if you enter any deductible expenses, and you need to explicitly choose standard deduction. Also, double-check that your W-2 information was entered correctly, especially the federal withholding amount of $2,765. A small typo there could explain the discrepancy.

I had a similar issue with TaxAct this year! This might sound weird but have you fully completed all the "required" sections? I spent hours trying to figure out why my refund calculation was off by almost exactly my standard deduction amount. Turns out I hadn't actually completed one of the questionnaires even though I was at the "review" screen. I found https://taxr.ai really helpful for double-checking my tax calculations. It analyzes all your documents and calculations to find discrepancies. After uploading my info, it immediately flagged that my taxable income calculation wasn't including the standard deduction. Saved me from filing incorrect taxes and potentially dealing with an amended return later. Try going back through each section of TaxAct carefully - there might be a small checkbox or questionnaire you missed that's preventing the standard deduction from being applied.

I was really skeptical about using yet another tax service, but I decided to try taxr.ai when my TaxAct return looked totally wrong. The standard deduction wasn't being applied correctly even though I had checked that box! The document review caught exactly what was happening - I had accidentally marked myself as "can be claimed as a dependent" on someone else's return (clicked the wrong option during the personal info section). This was preventing the full standard deduction from applying correctly, resulting in a much higher tax bill. Would have never caught this on my own since everything else looked right. Fixed it in TaxAct and my refund jumped by over $1000. Definitely worth the peace of mind!

If you're still having issues after fixing the standard deduction problem, you might need to call the IRS directly. However, you'll probably spend HOURS waiting to speak with someone. When I had a similar issue, I waited on hold for over 3 hours before giving up. I ended up using https://claimyr.com which got me through to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the hours I was waiting before. They have a cool video explaining how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The IRS agent was able to confirm that my tax software was calculating incorrectly and explained exactly which section was causing the problem. Sometimes these tax software issues are actually documented problems the IRS is already aware of, and only they can tell you the right way to handle it.

I thought this Claimyr thing sounded like complete BS, so I decided to try it myself when I needed to call the IRS about a missing refund. I'm shocked to say it actually worked exactly as described. I've literally never gotten through to an IRS agent in less than 2 hours of holding, but I got a call connecting me to a live person in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed there was a processing delay affecting my return and gave me an estimated timeline for resolution. For what it's worth, they also told me that TaxAct and several other tax services have had issues specifically with the standard deduction calculation this year and they're aware of the problem. They recommended completing the entire return (including state) and then reviewing the standard deduction line on the final Form 1040 to make sure it appears correctly before filing.

This might sound obvious but did you go through ALL of TaxAct's screens? I had almost the exact same issue (said I owed $400 when I should've gotten $600 back). When I looked closer, I noticed there was a "Personal Info" section I thought I completed, but I missed a question about whether I could be claimed as a dependent. The software defaulted to "Yes" which dramatically reduced my standard deduction. Once I fixed that single checkbox, everything calculated correctly. I've used TaxAct for 6 years and this is the first time I've had this problem. Their interface changed this year and it's really easy to miss important questions.

Just a tip - most tax software lets you view your actual Form 1040 before filing. If you look at line 12 on your 1040, it should show your standard deduction amount. If that line shows $0 or some reduced amount instead of $13,850 (assuming you're filing single), that confirms the standard deduction isn't being applied correctly. I always check my actual tax forms in the preview/print section before submitting anything. It's saved me from tons of errors over the years!