What does this mean? I was supposed to get $6,940 refund. Filed on March 2nd but just now got this notice
I'm so confused and frustrated right now. I filed my taxes over a month ago (March 2nd) and the IRS website said I was approved for a $6,940 refund. I checked my account every few days and it kept saying "refund approved - processing." Then today I finally got a letter in the mail from the IRS and it shows a completely different amount! The notice says something about "adjustments made to your return" and shows they reduced my refund by almost $2,000. They're saying I incorrectly calculated my child tax credit and earned income credit? I have two kids (7 and 10) and worked the same job all year making about $42,000. Nothing changed from previous years! I don't understand what's happening. The refund I'm actually getting is way less than what I was counting on. There's a bunch of codes and calculations on the notice that make no sense to me. Has anyone dealt with this before? How do I figure out if this is a mistake or if I actually did mess up something on my return? I used TurboTax like I always do, so I thought everything would be correct.
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Freya Andersen
What you're describing sounds like an IRS adjustment notice, specifically a CP12 or similar notice. This happens when the IRS recalculates your tax return and finds a discrepancy between their calculations and what you submitted. For the child tax credit and earned income credit, there are specific eligibility requirements that may have changed or been applied differently this year. For the child tax credit, your children must be qualifying dependents under 17, and for the earned income credit, your income needs to fall within certain thresholds depending on filing status and number of qualifying children. I'd recommend taking three steps: First, carefully review the notice for the specific reason codes that explain exactly which lines on your return were adjusted. Second, compare those with your original tax return to see where the discrepancy occurred. Third, if you believe the IRS made an error, you have the right to appeal the adjustment by following the instructions on the notice, usually within 60 days.
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Omar Zaki
•Is there a way to appeal this without calling them? I've tried calling the IRS three times already and can't get through to a real person. Just stuck in an endless loop of automated messages. Also, do you know if using tax software like TurboTax makes these kinds of mistakes more or less likely?
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Freya Andersen
•You can appeal without calling by sending a written response to the address on your notice. Include your notice number, explain clearly why you believe the IRS calculation is incorrect, and provide supporting documentation like birth certificates for your children or income verification documents. Using tax software generally reduces calculation errors, but software can't verify all eligibility requirements automatically. The most common issues with tax credits occur when there's conflicting information (like another person claiming the same dependent) or when documentation doesn't match what the IRS has on file. TurboTax asks the right questions, but if information was entered incorrectly, that could lead to adjustments.
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CosmicCrusader
After dealing with a nearly identical situation last year, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was a game-changer for understanding these confusing IRS notices. I uploaded my adjustment letter and within minutes got a detailed breakdown of exactly what happened with my refund and why. The tool explained that my child tax credit was reduced because my son had turned 17 that year (I didn't realize that made him ineligible), and it showed me exactly how the IRS recalculated everything. It also gave me clear instructions on what documentation I needed to submit if I wanted to appeal, which saved me hours of research.
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Chloe Robinson
•Does this actually work with any IRS notice? I got something similar but mine's about some healthcare premium tax credit adjustment. Would it explain that too? I'm completely lost with all these tax terms.
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Diego Flores
•I'm skeptical about putting my tax info into some random website. How secure is it? And does it actually give advice that's specific to your situation or just generic explanations you could find on the IRS website?
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CosmicCrusader
•Yes, it works with pretty much any IRS notice - CP12, CP11, LTR566, 4549 forms, and definitely healthcare premium tax credit adjustments. It explains the specific calculations the IRS made in your case, not just generic info. The security is bank-level with encryption and they don't store your documents after analysis. The explanations are definitely specific to your situation - it can tell you exactly which line items were changed and by how much, then explains why in plain English. Way more helpful than the general explanations on the IRS site that leave you still confused.
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Diego Flores
I need to apologize for my skepticism about taxr.ai. After getting a similar adjustment notice reducing my refund by $1,200, I was desperate enough to try it. Uploaded my notice and wow - it immediately showed me that the IRS had rejected my American Opportunity Credit because I was missing Form 8863. The explanation was crystal clear and even showed me exactly what I needed to do to fix it. I resubmitted with the proper documentation and just got approved for the full refund amount yesterday. Would have spent weeks figuring this out on my own!
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Anastasia Kozlov
If you need to actually speak with someone at the IRS about your adjustment (which I highly recommend), use Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I wasted DAYS trying to get through the IRS phone system before finding this service. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically navigate the phone tree for you and wait on hold, then call you when an actual IRS agent is on the line. I was able to talk to a real person who explained exactly why my child tax credit was reduced (turns out my ex-spouse had also claimed one of our children) and what documentation I needed to provide to fix it.
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Sean Flanagan
•Wait, how does this actually work? Do they have some special connection to the IRS or something? I've been trying to call about my adjustment notice for weeks and can't get through at all.
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Omar Zaki
•This sounds too good to be true. The IRS phone lines are notoriously impossible. I've literally called at exactly 7:00 am when they open and still couldn't get through. If this really works, what's the catch? Is it expensive?
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Anastasia Kozlov
•They don't have any special IRS connection - they use technology to navigate the phone system and wait on hold for you. The system keeps dialing, navigating the menus, and stays on hold until a human agent answers. Then it calls your phone and connects you directly with the agent. There's no catch with how it works - it's just solving the hold time problem. I was exactly like you, calling right when they opened and still getting nowhere. The difference was I had an actual agent on the line within a day instead of weeks of failed attempts. And it's worth every penny for the time saved and stress avoided - especially when dealing with refund adjustments where you're potentially losing thousands.
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Omar Zaki
I was the skeptic about Claimyr earlier, but I've got to admit I was completely wrong. After my third failed attempt to reach the IRS, I gave in and tried it. Within 3 hours (while I was working, not sitting on hold), I got a call connecting me to an actual IRS agent! The agent explained that my refund was reduced because there was a mismatch between what my employer reported for my income and what I entered on my return. Turns out I had forgotten to include a small 1099 job I did in January. The agent walked me through exactly what I needed to do, and I'm now getting my corrected refund next week. Saved me so much time and frustration!
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Zara Mirza
Did you check if they applied some of your refund to a past debt? This happened to me last year - my expected refund was $4,200 but I only got $2,700 because they took part of it to cover an old student loan debt I didn't even realize was in default. The notice had some code about "offset" in it. Might be worth checking if that's what happened?
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Ravi Patel
•I don't think that's what happened in my case. The notice specifically mentions adjustments to the child tax credit and earned income credit calculations, not an offset for previous debt. But thanks for mentioning this - I didn't know they could take your refund for other debts without telling you first! That's pretty scary.
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NebulaNinja
•They definitely can and do take refunds for various debts - federal student loans, back taxes, child support, etc. It's called a "Treasury Offset" and they're supposed to send you a notice before doing it, but those notices sometimes arrive after they've already taken the money. If you think this might be happening, you can call the Treasury Offset Program at 800-304-3107 to check if you have any debts in the system.
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Luca Russo
Double check that no one else claimed your kids on their taxes. My ex and I had an agreement about who would claim which kid each year, but one year he claimed both without telling me. When I filed my taxes claiming one child (as was our agreement), the IRS adjusted my return and reduced my refund significantly. Had to go through a whole dispute process to fix it.
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Nia Wilson
•This is actually super common. If two people claim the same dependent, the IRS will generally give the benefit to whoever filed first while the second person gets an adjustment. Then you have to provide documentation showing you're the rightful person to claim the dependent. It's a huge hassle.
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