I think the more typical problem is that for people drawing regular paychecks, the tax withholding will likely be set based on the previous year's tax bill. Conventional financial advice has been that you are not supposed to use your tax withholding as a type of "forced savings" and expect a refund after filing, since that would essentially be giving the government an interest free loan. In my case, my withholding was set essentially factoring in the child tax credit. I actually owed some money when I filed last year, but the amount was small enough that I didn't adjust my withholding. I owe a whole lot more this year, partially due to the child tax credit (for 3 kids!). I'm sending every freaking dime from those child tax credit checks back. Based on a few comments to my complaint about this on my Facebook page, there are other families in my situation.
I think the more typical problem is that for people drawing regular paychecks, the tax withholding will likely be set based on the previous year's tax bill. Conventional financial advice has been that you are not supposed to use your tax withholding as a type of "forced savings" and expect a refund after filing, since that would essentially be giving the government an interest free loan. In my case, my withholding was set essentially factoring in the child tax credit. I actually owed some money when I filed last year, but the amount was small enough that I didn't adjust my withholding. I owe a whole lot more this year, partially due to the child tax credit (for 3 kids!). I'm sending every freaking dime from those child tax credit checks back. Based on a few comments to my complaint about this on my Facebook page, there are other families in my situation.