Why am I Owen the irs ?

[xmasbaby0]

We cannot see your screen, your return or your account.  Have you entered ALL of your 2024 information?  All your income, etc.?  

There are a lot of variables that affect your refund or tax due including how much you earned, how much tax you had withheld, your filing status, the number of dependents you claim, your deductions and credits, etc.  You may have lost Earned Income Credit or the Child Tax Credit— did a child turn 17?  If you received the EIC last year, remember that changes in the amount you earn have a big effect on the amount of EIC you can get. (Sometimes earning more money means less EIC)  Are you 65 or older ?  If so, your standard deduction is higher. Everyone has a higher standard deduction now so it is harder to use itemized deductions.

And of course, always check your own data entries, looking for errors such as misplaced decimals or extra zeros.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/refund-go-compared-last-year/...

Print out 2023  and 2024  and compare them side by side to see what is different. 

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-payments/video-why-would-i-owe-federal-taxes/L3VXudPiN

[Vanessa A]

Generally, one will owe the IRS because they did not have enough taxes withheld from their wages throughout the year. 

Is this new or is this your first time filing?

If this is something new and you did not owe in previous years, it is likely because your tax situation changed or you made an error in your entries.  If nothing changed, then you can go back and double check all your entries.  If they are correct then compare your return from last year to this year.  Click here for instructions on how to see your 1040 online.  If you use the desktop version, you can just click on Forms mode at the top of the page.

Were you self-employed and have a liability for Self-Employment Taxes.  These taxes are 15.3% of your profit.  So if you made a profit of $10,000, you would owe $1,530 for self-employment taxes.  If this is your situation, you should be making quarterly estimated payments to cover your SE taxes and avoid penalties.

You had multiple jobs and each employer withheld enough to cover the wages you made with them, but when you combine your wages from multiple employers you are in a higher tax bracket and neither employer withheld at the higher rate. If you have multiple employers, you may want to complete a new W4 form for the one you make the most for or even for 2 of them.  You will want to  complete section 2 and probably section four to have an additional amount withheld every pay period. You can calculate the amount extra to be withheld, if your job situation is not expected to change, by dividing your $1,700 due by the number of pay periods you have in a year (usually 26 or 52) and entering that on line 4c.

You claimed an exemption on your W-4, or you did not update it.  For example, you had a child that was 15 when you started the job, but now they are 17 and no longer eligible for the child tax credit or your filing status has changed. 

Did your child turn 17 and lower your Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to the $500 Non-Refundable Other Dependent Credit ?

In the meantime, if you are unable to pay your taxes in full, you should still file by April 15th, but you can apply for a payment plan from the IRS.  When you get to the end of TurboTax, prior to hitting file, it will give you the option to apply. 

Be sure to go through all the questions in TurboTax to make sure you did not miss any credits or deductions.