One summer I worked for the government and while still under poverty level for the year, I was a student so it was a lot of money. Because of that, I was due almost a grand back in taxes. What I didn't discover until it was too late was that my mother decided to claim me as a dependant on her taxes since I was just about to turn 24 and would no longer be eligible. And she filed before me. So I filed and not only did I get a nice letter from the IRS saying it's not nice to defraud the government, my total return was $40.
Thanks mom. Really.
Last year I would have gotten almost $600 but one bank was refusing to let a check I wrote another bank clear, despite funds being available and by the time the smoke cleared, my return, which was electronically deposited, was completely used up in fees.
These days I'm burying my money in a jar in the backyard.