TurboTax Advance on Credit Karma Card - Will My Full Refund Go There Too?

The TurboTax advance program is essentially a loan against your expected refund, but have you considered what happens with the actual IRS deposit? When you accepted the advance, you likely agreed to their terms which typically include receiving the remainder of your refund through the same method. Did you check your TurboTax account settings? Or review the confirmation email they sent after filing? The Credit Karma card is their preferred deposit method since they're part of the same company now, but shouldn't they have made this clearer during the filing process?

Yep, when you take the advance through TurboTax + Credit Karma, your full refund is automatically directed to that same Credit Karma account. It's their not-so-subtle way of keeping you in their ecosystem. 😂 The advance is just the appetizer, your full refund is the main course that'll be served on the same plate (aka your Credit Karma card).

Yes. Rest goes to same card. No way around it now. That's how advance works. They front you money. Then take full refund. Then give you remainder on same card. If you need help contacting IRS about any issues, try Claimyr. Got me through to agent in 15 minutes. Saved hours of waiting. https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c

Here's what happens with TurboTax advances and refunds: • The advance is a loan against your expected refund • When you accept the advance on Credit Karma card, you're agreeing to receive your full refund there • TurboTax/Credit Karma receives your full refund from IRS • They keep the advance amount plus any fees • Remaining balance is deposited to your Credit Karma card • You cannot change the destination after accepting the advance • This is all in the terms you agreed to when accepting the advance Check your TurboTax account for exact timing of the remainder deposit.

According to IRS Publication 1345 (Rev. 1-2023), tax preparation services offering refund advances must disclose all terms of the transaction. In your case, by accepting the TurboTax advance to your Credit Karma card, you've authorized them as your refund recipient under IRC §6011(e)(3). The remaining portion of your refund (after they recoup their advance) will indeed be deposited to that same Credit Karma account. Per their agreement terms, this cannot be modified mid-process as they've already submitted Form 8888 designating the deposit location. Quite impressive how they've designed this system to keep users within their financial ecosystem!

Let me explain exactly what happens with TurboTax advances: Step 1: You accept the advance, which goes to your Credit Karma card Step 2: TurboTax submits your return to the IRS with the Credit Karma account as the designated refund destination Step 3: When the IRS processes your return, they send your ENTIRE refund to that designated account Step 4: TurboTax/Credit Karma automatically deducts the advance amount they already gave you Step 5: They deposit the remainder to your Credit Karma card Unfortunately, there's no way to change this after you've accepted the advance. The good news is you can transfer money from your Credit Karma account to another bank account once you receive it.

I may be in the minority here, but I actually prefer having my refund go to my Credit Karma card. It's possibly easier to manage than my regular bank in some ways. You can transfer funds from the Credit Karma card to your regular bank account, though it might take 1-3 business days depending on your bank. When I called the IRS about a similar situation last year, they confirmed they can only send the refund to whatever account was listed on the return, which in your case would definitely be the Credit Karma account.

OMG this Credit Karma/TurboTax advance thing confuses SO MANY PEOPLE every year! 😫 It's almost like they deliberately make it unclear! The community wisdom here is: YES, your entire refund goes to the Credit Karma card. That's how they structure these advances - they front you some money now, then when your actual refund comes in, they take the whole thing, keep their advance portion, and put the rest on your card. You can transfer it out later, but it's definitely a way to keep you in their ecosystem longer. Next year, if you don't want this to happen, choose direct deposit to your bank instead of taking the advance!

I went through this exact situation last year. I took the TurboTax advance to my Credit Karma card because I needed some money quickly. When my actual refund was processed by the IRS about 3 weeks later, the remainder (after they subtracted the advance amount) showed up on my Credit Karma card too. I remember being confused just like you because I was expecting it to go to my checking account like in previous years. I had to transfer the money from the Credit Karma card to my bank, which took about 2 days. Not the end of the world, but definitely something I wish I'd understood better beforehand.