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WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

Please don't berate me for not being educated on the matter.... I worked 2 jobs last year, paid the state income tax from both jobs, calculated out to 7.9%. BUT, I just did my taxes and it says I owe almost $1,100. Am I missing something? BTW, total gross was approx 33k.

Thank you,

Elizabeth

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9 Replies

WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

BTW, no kids, no investments, literally just 2 jobs - standard deductions...

WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

The usual reason for owing state tax is that you did not have enough tax withheld from your paychecks.  You say you had two jobs.   Each employer withholds tax as if that job was your only job, so they likely did not withhold enough.   You need to have more state tax withheld by one or both employers to avoid this next time.

 

And....double check all of the amounts you entered from your W-2's to make sure you did not enter something incorrectly.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

Oregon State Income Tax is between 4.5-9.9%, both jobs withheld 7.9%

Vanessa A
Employee Tax Expert

WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

First, double check your entries to be sure that you do not have a typo with a decimal point in the wrong place or numbers inverted. 

 

 If all is correct in your entries, then the most likely reason you owe taxes is because Oregon has a system similar to the federal tax system.  Since you had multiple jobs, each employer would withhold 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 made significantly less with one employer, it is possible that they withheld little to no state taxes. 

With income of $33k, you should have had around $44 a week total withheld for your state taxes for a total of around $2,288 based on the Oregon Withholding Tax Table. 

 

Since Oregon does have a standard deduction of $2,745, each employer would include that standard deduction in their withholding calculations which would cause you to get double the standard deduction.  Meaning you have an extra $2,745 in income that was not taxed. 

If you are  having too little withheld, then you may want to correct this in 2025 by filing out a new Oregon W-4 to change your withholdings and have an additional amount withheld from one of the employers. 

 

 

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WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

I had a total (BOTH JOBS) of 2,656 withheld for state taxes, that's more than what you came up with. 

WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

And thank you for the informative response!!! I greatly appreciate it - but I'm still confused... both jobs withheld enough tax, and even if the entire amount was taxed at 8.75% (Oregon is graduated) I would't owe more than $300. So, still confused.

Vanessa A
Employee Tax Expert

WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

It sounds like there is an error in the entries then.  Go back and look at each W-2 and double check your entries.  Look at your state return to see if the income total is correct. You can see your summary by selecting

  1. Tax Tools
  2. Tools
  3. View Tax Summary
  4. Then select the state return. 
  5. This will show you your total state income.

Be sure you are fully in the return if you do not see the Tax Tools option. 

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WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

I was only able to view my Federal return info via the steps you reccomended. I will have to call the state to figure it out. Thank you for taking the time to help.

Vanessa A
Employee Tax Expert

WHY DO I OWE STATE TAXES??

Did you go back into your return and verify that your W2 entries are correct in the state section?

You can also go to print your return and see your state and federal returns. 

 

Can I print a copy of my return in TurboTax Online before I file it?

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