Confusion of the Best Kind

So. I was having a hard time figuring out what to do with my state taxes.

I filed my federal through Turbo Tax, and prepared my state through them as well -- but Turbo Tax said we were only going to get a $57 state refund, and it's around $30 to e-file your state taxes through them. That's over half my refund! No thanks, I thought; I'll just file the paper forms. Only one problem... the KY state tax forms are really confusing!

I filled out the forms to the best of my ability and came to the conclusion that we should receive a $54 state refund. The $3 difference was really bothering me, but one of our work accountants said it was probably just a slight difference in tax table calculations between me and TT, so not to worry about it. (As a side note: it's generally a waste of time to tell Type A personalities "not to worry about it.")

But really, I had no options. I wasn't going to pay someone to do my taxes, and I wasn't going to upgrade to a more expensive Turbo Tax preparation that would take my entire refund, not just half of it! So I shoved my Type A aside and mailed in the tax forms.

Last week we got our refund check in the mail... for $236! The stub said: "The refund amount as originally calculated on your return has been adjusted for the following reason(s): Error in tax computation or in reading tax table."

Say what??

The Type A in me wants to know how in the world they got that number. The rest of me wants to go shopping! The responsible sliver of me will deposit the check, somewhat grudgingly, in our savings account. I'm totally confused, but with an extra $182. I think I win!