topic I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got more than enough taken out of each of my paychecks and now I owe money too? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got more than enough taken out of each of my paychecks and now I owe money too?

jaspercalton — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:08:52 GMT

Taxes are confusing, and I was anticipating little to no federal return, but to have to owe $616????

Re: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got more than enough taken out of each of my paychecks and now I owe money too?

xmasbaby0 — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 20:26:51 GMT

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: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got m...

Vanessa A — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 20:28:03 GMT

If this is something new and you did not owe in previous years, it is likely because your tax situation changed or you made an error in your entries. If nothing changed, then you can go back and compare your return from last year to this year. Click here for instructions on how to see your 1040 online. If you use the desktop version, you can just click on Forms mode at the top of the page.

Were you self-employed and have a liability for Self-Employment Taxes. These taxes are 15.3% of your profit. So if you made a profit of $10,000, you would owe $1,530 for self-employment taxes. If this is your situation, you should be making quarterly estimated payments to cover your SE taxes and avoid penalties.

You had multiple jobs and each employer withheld enough to cover the wages you made with them, but when you combine your wages from multiple employers you are in a higher tax bracket and neither employer withheld at the higher rate. If you have multiple employers, you may want to complete a new W4 form for the one you make the most for or even for 2 of them. You will want to complete section 2 and probably section four to have an additional amount withheld every pay period. You can calculate the amount extra to be withheld, if your job situation is not expected to change, by dividing your $1,700 due by the number of pay periods you have in a year (usually 26 or 52) and entering that on line 4c.

You claimed an exemption on your W-4, or you did not update it. For example, you had a child that was 15 when you started the job, but now they are 17 and no longer eligible for the child tax credit or your filing status has changed.

Did your child turn 17 and lower your Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to the $500 Non-Refundable Other Dependent Credit ?

In the meantime, if you are unable to pay your taxes in full, you should still file by April 18th, but you can apply for a payment plan from the IRS. When you get to the end of TurboTax, prior to hitting file, it will give you the option to apply.

Be sure to go through all the questions in TurboTax to make sure you did not miss any credits or deductions.

Re: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got more than enough taken out of each of my paychecks and now I owe money too?

Staceylcash — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 17:55:53 GMT

Honestly, I'm just gonna say, I had to go to taxact instead of filing with turbo tax cause they messed everything up, and I was supposed to get money back and when I logged back in, they switched it to where I owed 400. I left and didn't file, went ahead and entered all the same info into taxact and sure enough I was owed money and turbo tax just kept messing it up.

Re: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got more than enough taken out of each of my paychecks and now I owe money too?

Shy95 — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:57:57 GMT

I wanna know the same thing. Because I also owe exactly $616 back to the federal taxes when nothing changed in the last three years

Re: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got more than enough taken out of each of my paychecks and now I owe money too?

xmasbaby0 — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:59:13 GMT

@Shy95

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: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got m...

JohnB5677 — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 22:20:35 GMT

If you have your 2023 form 1040, you can do a side by side comparison.

Xmasbaby0 was correct "There are a lot of variables"

You will see some key line numbers at the bottom of the page.

To see your 2024 tax return:

From the left sidebar

Select Tax tools. You may have to minimize the Federal and State selections.
Click Tools
A Menu will pop up
Select View tax summary
On the left panel click Preview my 1040

Some Key numbers:

11 Adjusted Gross Income
12 Deductions
15 Taxable income
16 Tax
19 Child Tax Credit
33 Withholdings
34 Refund
34 Underpayment

Re: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got more than enough taken out of each of my paychecks and now I owe money too?

Kev34 — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 00:16:29 GMT

I filed my taxes and after following my taxes I was total of $500 and I've been trying to figure out how to dispute that and ever since then I bought every two weeks I'll get a piece of mail telling me I owe even more now it's telling me I owe close to $2,500 which I cannot afford to pay I live check my check because I kill myself to make my money I'm not going to have the government and the IRS who are dirty as hell and taking money and putting it at other things that they shouldn't be the hassle me someone that barely gets by for $2,500 that I don't know they're just trying to take my money

Re: I would like to know why I am getting screwed on taxes and owe so much back to taxes, I got m...

LeticiaF1 — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 23:10:47 GMT

There are many reasons why you could have a balance due. ‌Some situations could be:

You had additional income, received a bonus
You didn't have enough withholding
You had fewer deductions, you might not have contributed as much to your 401k
Your credits changed
You changed your filing status

You can access your personalized information in TurboTax, review your entries

Open or continue your return.
Select Federal from the left menu
Choose Federal Review

If after reviewing your information, you still have a balance, use the TurboTax W-4 Withholding Calculator tool. ‌It'll help you find the right withholding so that you can better plan for your next tax return.

@Kev34