TurboTax calculation error with unemployment deduction - Should I rely on their Accurate Calculation Guarantee if IRS finds errors?

Wait, really? I thought the UCE was a permanent thing! That makes so much more sense now that I think about it. So basically all unemployment is taxable for 2022? But that's what's confusing me - my refund is actually HIGHER now, not lower, even though TurboTax is including more unemployment income. Shouldn't that make my refund smaller? I'm wondering if it's applying some other credit that it wasn't before.

The UCE was definitely just a temporary provision for 2020 only as part of COVID relief. All unemployment is fully taxable for 2022, so TurboTax is correct to include the full amount. Your refund being higher despite more taxable income is certainly unusual. I'd suggest reviewing your credits section carefully. Check if anything changed with Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, or education credits. Sometimes answering a question differently can trigger eligibility for a credit that more than offsets the additional tax from the unemployment income.

How does this actually work? Do you just upload your returns and it compares them or does it actually check for errors? Seems like it would be hard for software to know tax rules better than TurboTax itself.

I'm a bit skeptical of these third-party tax tools. Wouldn't giving your tax info to another company just increase your risk of identity theft? And wouldn't TurboTax's own review tools catch calculation errors?

It works by analyzing the mathematical calculations and cross-referencing them with tax rules. You upload your return documents and it compares them side by side with highlighting for all differences. It caught things TurboTax missed because it's specifically designed to audit calculations rather than just generate returns. As for security concerns, they use bank-level encryption and don't store your documents after analysis. It's more of a verification tool that's independent from the software that created your return, which is important since no tax program is perfect. Even TurboTax makes mistakes sometimes, which is exactly why they offer that guarantee.

So this service actually gets you through to a real IRS person? How does that even work? I thought the whole problem was that there weren't enough agents to take calls.

This sounds like BS honestly. No way some third-party service can magically get IRS agents on the phone when millions of people can't. They probably just keep you on hold themselves and charge you for it.

Yes, they actually do get you through to a real IRS agent. They use an automated system that continually redials and navigates the IRS phone tree for you until they get through, then they call you when an agent is ready to talk. It's basically like having someone wait on hold for you. They don't create any additional IRS capacity - you're right that there's a limited number of agents. But their system is persistent in a way that most people can't be when calling manually. I was skeptical too but it worked exactly as advertised. I got an actual IRS agent who answered my specific question about the unemployment compensation calculation.

That's really helpful to know! So basically their guarantee only covers like math errors in their software, not if I make a mistake or misunderstand something? Is there any way to tell if the current calculation is actually coming from their software vs something I might have entered?

Exactly right. Their guarantee only covers errors in their mathematical calculations, not user input errors or misinterpretation of tax situations. To determine if the calculation is coming from their software versus your inputs, look for the "Tax Tools" or "Tools" section in TurboTax and find the tax summary or forms view. Compare the numbers on your actual forms with what you believe should be reported. If you see the full unemployment amount on your 1040, that's correct for 2022. The difference in refund is likely coming from somewhere else - potentially credits or deductions that changed between your draft and final version.

I've actually had them honor it once! Back in 2019 their software didn't properly apply a state credit that I was eligible for. When I got the correction notice, I submitted everything to TurboTax with their guarantee form and they paid the difference plus the interest (about $175 total). But I had to be really persistent and provide clear documentation that it was their calculation error, not my input.