If my tax rate is lower, and my taxable income after deductions is less, why would taxes owed be more?

[elgingreen · Accepted solution]

The problem was a glitch in the TurboTax program:

On the Personal Income section, Box 12a-d, the dropdowns don't always update when selected. I had mistakenly selected "A-Uncollected social security..." When I re-selected "D-Elective deferrals to 401(k), it looked selected, but when I went back later to research the tax discrepancy, I was that it had not retained the "D" selection.

I tested this several times and found that about 50% of the time it does NOT update properly.

User beware!

[MichaelMc]

Many taxpayers are finding that their refunds are smaller than expected or that they owe taxes this year.

In 2018, the withholding tables used by employers were adjusted to put more money into wage earners' paychecks. This was done without fully taking into account the impact of many tax law changes that were also taking effect in 2018. The consequence is that many taxpayers are seriously under-withheld.