I did my own taxes for the first time this year. Using tax software, I plugged in what my refund would be if I had no stock sales in 2006. BTW, my tax bracket is 15% and I'm in New York. Without Capital Gains: Federal Refund : $400 and State Refund : $1460 Capital Gains of only $4416. Federal : $260 (I owe) and State Refund : $1037 According to an online Capital Gains calculator I used, my Federal tax should be $662 (which explains why my refund went from $400 to minus $260). What I can't understand is why my State refund dropped so drastically.