Married jointly & my wife made less than me but doesnt have depends on the w2 but I did report them on my w2. now when I enter her w2 we lose a lot in the return. why?

oleffjimenez — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 01:42:16 GMT

Re: Married jointly & my wife made less than me but doesnt have depends on the w2 but I did report them on my w2. now when I enter her w2 we lose a lot in the return. why?

xmasbaby0 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 01:54:52 GMT

You do not put dependents on a W-2. You do give a W-4 to your employer to tell them how much tax to withhold from your paychecks. It is very common and normal for the refund to decrease when you enter a second W-2.

WHY DID MY REFUND GO DOWN WHEN I ADDED ANOTHER W-2?

You started off with your first W-2 and your refund looked high? Then you added another W-2 and it stopped looking so good? That is normal. When you added more income, your tax liability increased, so you saw your refund decrease. The program began by giving you your standard deduction—- which lowered your taxable income. (if you are filing joint it took $31,500 off your income right off the bat) So you are not being taxed on as much of the income on that first W-2. Then you added taxable income--so the refund went down. Your refund (or tax due) is based on the total of your income, not “per W-2.”

And…adding income may affect other credits you were getting like the earned income credit.

Wait until you have entered ALL of your income and credit/deduction information. You can't really tell anything until it is all entered.

WHY DID MY REFUND DROP WHEN I ADDED ANOTHER W-2?

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-refund/refund-drop-entered-second-w-2/L4wmMMBCs_US_en_US?uid=m6csd0x4

Re: Married jointly & my wife made less than me but doesnt have depends on the w2 but I did repor...

MaxA1 — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 02:03:50 GMT

Additionally, here's some links that give information on 2025 Tax brackets and Standard Deduction, so that you may proof-check the results TurboTax is giving you.

topic Married jointly & my wife made less than me but doesnt have depends on the w2 but I did report them on my w2. now when I enter her w2 we lose a lot in the return. why? in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Married jointly & my wife made less than me but doesnt have depends on the w2 but I did report them on my w2. now when I enter her w2 we lose a lot in the return. why?

Re: Married jointly & my wife made less than me but doesnt have depends on the w2 but I did report them on my w2. now when I enter her w2 we lose a lot in the return. why?

Re: Married jointly & my wife made less than me but doesnt have depends on the w2 but I did repor...