mfields2
Expert Alumni

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

While it is a bit difficult to do a full assessment of your situation without seeing your tax returns and supporting documents (w-2's, etc.) - let me give you a few places to look for the answers as to why you owe:

 

1) Your W-4's are not filled out correctly.  Generally, in 2 income households, you have to use the "long" form W-4 worksheet for BOTH spouses to calibrate the withholdings properly.  If your incomes are relatively similar, you can always opt for the "single" rate of withholding, as generally that will cover your tax bill.  Your W-4 status does NOT have be the same status as your tax filing status; it is merely giving direction to your employer about how much money to take out of your paycheck to cover your tax bill at the end of the year.

 

2) Payroll error - it is possible that you have filled out your w-4's correctly, and the information in the system is just wrongly computing the proper withholding.  $200k of taxable income minus the standard deduction would yield about $30k of taxes for a married filing joint couple (a rate of 15%); take a look at your latest pay stub and see if your net wages (gross wages minus 401k and other pretax items) are having 15% of tax withheld for both of you.  If not, you need to make some changes.  The withholding tables changed after the Tax Cuts and Jobs  Act for 2018 and all years since then; if your spouse hasn't updated his W-4 since then it is possible his withholding is entirely too low.  Some payroll administrators (i.e. - human resources inside your company) did not handle the change in 2018 correctly.

 

3) Depending on the state you are in, you may want to explore Married Filing Separately.  States like Ohio have not removed a very high marriage tax penalty;  you might find this yields a much better result.

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"