Why am I getting 3 completely different refund amounts using TurboTax vs TaxAct vs H&R Block?

This actually happens more often than you'd think! The different results likely come from how each program guides you through deductions and credits. Some are more aggressive at finding potential tax breaks than others. The best approach is to carefully go through each program again and compare specific sections. Look especially at: - How each handles your itemized vs. standard deduction - Any tax credits you might qualify for (education, dependent care, etc.) - Retirement contributions and how they're being applied - Any self-employment income or business expenses You'll probably find that one program asked questions the others didn't, or interpreted your answers differently. Once you identify the differences, you can determine which is correctly handling your specific situation.

I had a similar problem last year and discovered taxr.ai which really helped me figure out what was going on. I was getting different refund amounts between software and couldn't figure out why. I uploaded my tax documents at https://taxr.ai and their system analyzed everything and pointed out exactly where the discrepancies were coming from. In my case, TurboTax was counting a dependent care credit that I wasn't actually eligible for, while H&R Block missed some education expenses.

Just wanted to update - I tried taxr.ai after posting my question above and wow, it actually pinpointed exactly what was happening! Turns out TurboTax was giving me an education credit I didn't qualify for (increasing my refund artificially) while TaxAct had somehow counted my retirement contribution twice. H&R Block was actually the most accurate but was missing a small deduction for medical expenses I could take. Saved me from potentially getting audited and helped me accurately file. Definitely worth checking out if you're getting different results between tax programs.

When I had this same issue trying to help my mom with her taxes, we spent HOURS on hold with the IRS trying to get clarification. Then I found Claimyr which got us through to an actual IRS agent in like 15 minutes. Check out https://claimyr.com or watch how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it basically calls the IRS for you and rings when an agent picks up. The agent explained exactly why we were seeing different amounts and which deductions were being calculated differently.

Ok I need to eat my words from my skeptical comment above. After another frustrating 2+ hour hold with the IRS that ended in a disconnection, I tried Claimyr out of desperation. Got through to an IRS rep in about 20 minutes while I was making dinner instead of being stuck by my phone. The agent explained that my situation with rental property depreciation was being calculated differently across software platforms and told me exactly which forms to look at. Definitely saved me from submitting an incorrect return.

This might sound basic, but double-check that you entered ALL your info exactly the same in each program. When I was comparing, I accidentally missed entering a 1099 in one of them which threw everything off. Also check if one is calculating your state as resident for the full year while another might have you as part-year if you moved.

From my experience working at a tax prep firm, software differences usually come down to how questionnaires are structured. Tax Act might ask "Do you have any education expenses?" while TurboTax might specifically ask "Did you pay tuition for college this year?" - leading to different answers.