refund/owe question

[elynnh97]

In the handful of years, we have owed more and more on our federal taxes, which I get to an extent. What is weird is we have a few different friends with similar family situations as us - married filing jointly, the same # of kids (around the same ages), similar salaries, similar mortgage setup, taking the standard deduction, and nothing crazy added for investments or retirements, etc.  So the confusion I have is they are getting refunds, even if small. Even last year one family took the child tax payment monthly that was offered, so their child tax credit was reduced - they still got a refund.  We did NOT take those payments (opted out) and we owed even having the full credit available to us. We haven't gotten a refund since 2016.  I am not sure if I'm answering something incorrectly or overlooking something we might be eligible for.  I've been doing TurboTax since the late 90's and it's always been so easy, but ever since 2017 I've felt like something was weird with our returns - assuming user error.  I know we don't get to itemize with the higher standard deduction, but most people don't.  Anyway, thoughts on obvious things that I should look at? I'm a smart person with boring taxes.  So I can see with boring taxes maybe I'm skipping over something we are eligible for but I'm overlooking in the guided questions that I answer.

[xmasbaby0]

You would have to put your tax return side by side with one of the friend's returns to see what is really different.   Compare them line by line.    Maybe they have a lot more withheld from their paychecks;  maybe they get credits you are overlooking; maybe they are bragging about a fictitious refund they really did not get...; maybe they made mistakes on their returns that you did not make; there are so many variables even when you think your situation is similar.  

If you really fear you are missing out on some credits or deductions, you could try using the online "Live" software so that an expert would review your return this year.  Or get a local tax pro to look over your returns for the past couple of years.  If you really have missed something you can amend for up to three years from the filing deadline to get an additional refund.

[VolvoGirl]

Yes I would start by comparing the withholding from your pay.  They must have more withheld than you.   Maybe they contribute more to their job 401k or something.  Even though your situations are similar, everyone is different .  

[MichaelG81]

Here is a great WITHOLDING CALCULATOR that can give you an idea of what to withhold from your paycheck. You could always go to your employer and ask to update your W4 Form in case you missed something or are barely withholding. Section 4c lets you even withhold a little extra from each paycheck. Some situations including contributions to qualified retirement accounts, number of dependents, amount paid for child care, among many other situations can lower or credit your tax bill, each situation is unique and yes you can use TurboTax Live for a Tax Expert to answer questions about missed credits/deductions or income phaseouts for credits/deductions with that service. @xmasbaby0 has good points about side to side comparison if they feel comfortable sharing that; look for AGI and income tax paid or withheld to start, then credits and deductions.

@elynnh97