lowreyr
New Member

I made roughly the same amount as last year and paid the same amount in taxes. Why do I owe twice as much in taxes this year compared to last year?

 
HelenC12
Expert Alumni

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I can't see your tax return to tell you why you owe this year versus last year. However, there may be several reasons why you may have a shortfall. The following are some suggestions to help you find the reason why.

  • Double check the amounts you entered into TurboTax to make sure they were entered correctly.
  • Do an income tax return line by line comparison to see what is different this year versus last year.  
  • Your 2020 federal Tax Withholding was lower than 2019.  
  • You deferred less income into your Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan or Flexible Savings Plan.
  • You didn't qualify for a tax credit you received last year (or the credit amount decreased).
  • You removed a dependent.
  • You changed your filing status.
  • If you itemize, your Itemized Deductions are lower this year. or the standard deduction is lower.

If you have two W-2's in 2020, see Why did my refund drop when I entered a second W-2?

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lowreyr
New Member

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I went through line by line and the only amount that changed were my 401 contributions. I can’t imagine why increasing those would cause my taxes owed to double. 

*for clarity. I paid the same amount of federal taxes this year as I did last year but now I owe $ where last year I was receiving a refund.

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Increasing your 401K investment amount would not result in increased taxes owed.  Something else has changed to result in your taxable amount being higher on the same amount of income.

@lowreyr