What is a tax refund?

You don't "do" a "tax refund".  

You FILE a TAX RETURN.  A tax return MUST be filed with the government to prove you paid the correct amount of taxes for the income that you earned.In some cases, you might owe MORE taxes and would not get a tax refund.If you overpaid your taxes, then you get a TAX REFUND of that money that you overpaid.  (think of it like getting change back at a store when you use a larger bill than the cost of what you are buying.  You are entitled to YOUR money being returned to you if you overpaid on your tax liability)

A tax refund occurs when you've paid more than you owe into the IRS. You need to fdile a return in order to receive it. Example, your tax liability for 2019 comes out to 1983.10 and you've paid 2,183.10. You'll be entitled to a 200 refund.

It is giving you back what you overpaid.

A refund is repayment to you of money you overpaid in taxes. Yes, you want to o it, otherwise you are giving up money that is yours.

A tax refund is when the government returns to you the amount you overpaid, through payroll deductions, toward your yearly tax bill. To know if you will have a refund or need to pay additional tax (because enough was not withheld from pay), you must complete the tax return.

If the government took more out of your check during the year than you owe in taxes, you get back the rest.  That is called a "tax refund".  There are a lot of variables, like which tax bracket you're in, if you have kids, etc.

A tax RETURN is a form you need to fill out and file each year that you make a certain amount of income. On the form, you calculate the amount of tax you owe on your income, and compare that to what you've already paid in for the year, maybe through withholding from your paychecks. If you paid in more than you owe, the extra is refunded to you. If you didn't pay in enough, you have to pay the rest.

Let me use Judy's example.

You go into Walmart and buy an item that costs $5.  You can pay with a $20, a $10 or a $5 out of your wallet.  If you pay with a $20, you get a refund of $15.  $5 if you use the $10 and $0 if you use the $5.

For taxes, the tax forms you file are used to reconcile what you made for the year, the tax you owe, the amount you had withheld and ultimately whether you owe, broke even or get a refund.  If you don't file, the IRS and state will come knocking if they think you owe.

To affect public behavior, the government often puts credits into the code, most lower your tax bill (increasing a refund) and a few even do more than that.

I've been filing my tax returns for more than 45 years.  Only one year did I have a tax bill of $0.  Most years I got a refund, a few years I had to write a check.

The IRS has a rule.  If you are under 65, single and had wages, you must file if you made $12,200 ore more.

It can be a refund of your own money, but it's often a "refund" of money that was never paid by the receiver.