topic How can I owe more than half of my earned income in taxes? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

How can I owe more than half of my earned income in taxes?

jamalhjohnson — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:27:07 GMT

Re: How can I owe more than half of my earned income in taxes?

xmasbaby0 — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 02:01:53 GMT

We cannot see your tax return, but first-----have you double checked all of the amounts you entered from W-2's and 1099's? Look for misplaced decimals or extra zeros.

We cannot see your screen, your return or your account. Have you entered ALL of your 2024 information? All your income, etc.? Many tax documents that you need do not arrive until late January or even February, so maybe you do not have it all there yet.

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/L97JmhUbi_US_en_US?uid=ld9ijm41

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

Re: How can I owe more than half of my earned income in taxes?

ThomasM125 — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 02:10:07 GMT

You would likely have taxes from non-earned income sources to owe that much in taxes. I suggest you look at your Form 1040 and Schedule 2 Additional Taxes. You need to look at the income reported on the first page of your Form 1040 to see if there is unearned income that is increasing your tax burden. Also, look at the additional taxes reported on schedule 2. A possible culprit is self-employment tax as reported on line 4 of Schedule 2. It can be around 15% of your self-employment income.

To view your form 1040 and schedule 1 to 3:

Choose Tax Tools from your left menu bar in TurboTax Online
Choose Tools
Choose View Tax Summary
See the Preview my 1040 option in the left menu bar and click on it
Choose the Back option in the left menu bar when you are done