I Have No Clue As To How To Fill Our W-4s

[keaht]

I have two full time jobs, my wife has 3 jobs (two W-4 jobs and one job doesn't take out taxes), and we have 4 kids.  This past year (2023) we ended up owing $17,000.  How do we fill out our W-4s to avoid having to pay back so much.  We are fine with just getting net zero. We don't need a refund. Also, given we're almost halfway through 2024 I'm guessing we'll need to do additional withholdings to make up some of the difference that were supposed to be withheld if we had correctly filled out our W-4s at the start of the year.

[drc845443]

I recommend that you update your W-4 forms for each job. You can do this by using the  W4 calculator per the link below:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/

Once you have made these changes, you can monitor your progress using online tools like TaxCaster to estimate your tax liability to the end of the year, and based on the outcome, decide whether you want to make estimated tax payments in order to top up your withholdings. 

Here is the link to TaxCaster: Tax Calculator - Tax Refund & Return Estimator 2023-2024 | TurboTax® Official (intuit.com)

As an alternative, you can also leave your W-4 forms as they are and just make the quarterly estimated payments that were recommended at the time you filed your tax return for 2023. The Form 1040-ES's for 2024 should have printed with your tax return.