Why do I have such a large state tax payment due?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
February 4, 2020
1 reply
8 views

I'm a college student and I've only worked at a work study job last year. I didn't make very much at all ($1449) total because I was focused on school and not on working. This was my only W2 last year. But my state income tax that I have to pay according to TurboTax is $178. That's over 12% of everything I made last year. How is that possible? Is that an error?

TurboTax Free Edition Online

GiseleD

Level 14

You may have made an error in data entry. Please double-check your W-2 entries, especially Boxes 15-18, to make sure that an extra digit wasn't added/transposed in error.

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AidanbensonAuthor

Level 2

Already double and triple checked it. No error

GiseleD

Level 14

OK. The next troubleshooting step to diagnose this issue is to look at the actual forms. This will give you a more holistic view of all the numbers in your returns. Please check both federal and state forms, as the information in the federal return gets carried over to the state return.

Here's how to look at your current year return forms:

In the left-hand menu bar, click on Tax Tools, then click Tools.
Under Other helpful links, click View Tax Summary.
Your Tax Summary will be displayed. In the left-hand menu bar, you will see a new option: Preview My 1040. Click it, and this will allow you to see the forms. It is important to check your 1040 before you check your state return, as much of your entries on the 1040 will impact the state return.
If you want to view your state entries, click on Tax Home in the left-hand menu bar. In the center of your screen, scroll down until you see State Taxes. Click on it to review your state entries.