But Onyx, does the refund you get equal the total sum that you paid in taxes on every paycheck?

I did a woman's taxes 2 years ago that had a total withholding of $1900. Her refund was over $3000.
She was sole support of herself and 2 teenage boys.

I did a woman's taxes 2 years ago that had a total withholding of $1900. Her refund was over $3000.

That was the case I was going to mention. A single parent gets a huge number of credits even without having paid income taxes at all. Also any child support they receive is completely tax-free.

are you saying that you have gotten a refund back of every penny you paid in for the last 17 years. just getting a refund back doesn't necessarily mean that you didn't pay any taxes, it only means you paid in more than the required amount throughout the year.