Married filing jointly, no exemptions with extra amount withheld, still owe Federal taxes

Forum|Forum|2 months ago
May 13, 2026
1 reply
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We are filing married jointly, have changed to no exemptions, plus withhold additional flat amounts every pay and we still owe Federal taxes every year the past few years. We no longer have a child dependent credit and take the standard deduction. What other things can be done to lessen the tax burden? Thanks.

Ask the Experts - W4 - May 2026

Best answer by VolvoGirl

Do you have a lot of interest or dividends? Yes you can send in estimated payments. If you owed on your tax return then Turbo Tax should have automatically prepared the1040ES slips for you.

You must make quarterly estimated tax payments for the current tax year if both of the following apply:

- 1. You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for the current tax year, after subtracting your withholding and credits.

- 2. You expect your withholding and credits to be less than the smaller of:

90% of the tax to be shown on your current year’s tax return, or 0

100% of the tax shown on your prior year’s tax return. (Your prior year tax return must cover all 12 months.)

To prepare estimates for next year you start with your current return, but be careful not to change anything. If you can't get back into your return, Click on Add a State to let you back into your retun.

You can just type W4 in the search box at the top of your return , click on Find. Then Click on Jump To and it will take you to the estimated tax payments section. Say NO to changing your W-4 and the next screen will start the estimated taxes section.

Or Go to….

Federal Taxes or Personal (Deskop H&B)

Other Tax Situations

Other Tax Forms

Form W-4 and Estimated Taxes - Click the Start or Update button

Here are the blank Estimates and instructions (the actual 1040ES forms are at the very bottom so scroll way down)

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf

You can pay directly on the IRS website https://www.irs.gov/payments

Be sure to pick the right kind of payment and year.....2026 Estimate

AmitaR

Employee Tax & Finance Expert

Married Filing Joint, no dependents, taking standard deduction and you are already having Extra Withholdings taken out each pay period. You still have a balance due when you file taxes every year... that must be very frustrating! I understand.

You made no mention whether you have income other than wages or whether you are in high income tax brackets, or whether you have multiple jobs, etc. These factors add to your Tax Liability.

So, the easiest fix in your situation may be to add even more to Line 4(c) for Extra Withholdings. But if less of your income is from Wages, and more from Self-employment earnings, then you may want to consider Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments.

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gidabean1Author

Level 2

Thanks for the reply. No other self-employment income and we are in the 24% tax bracket. Both my and my spouse's jobs are our only employment. Can you make incremental estimated tax payments throughout the year to possibly make up the difference?

VolvoGirlAnswer

Level 15