How can I change my W-4 so I don’t owe again?

[fortphoenixo]

It seems like no matter what I do to change my w-4 I always owe which is not like it was in the past. What can I do to reduce or eliminate what I owe at the end of the year?

[evelynm]

Turbo Tax has a great tax caster tool to estimate your taxes.   It will also allow you to adjust your withholdings with an updated W-4 to provide to your employer.   

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

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

Using the tax caster allows you to do "what if" scenarios like increasing your charitable contributions and retirement plan contributions if applicable.   

Here are some tax planning tips:  https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-deductions-and-credits/7-best-tips-to-lower-your-tax-bill-f...

[SusanR2]

Take another look at your W-4 form and go to Step 4, line (c).  Since you said you've tried changing your W-4 and nothing worked to fix your issue, you may just want to have a specific additional amount withheld from each paycheck.  If you owed last year, divide the amount you had to pay by the number of pay periods (ie how many times you receive a paycheck during the year) and then have that amount withheld, extra - on top of your regular withholdings by filling in the amount on line 4c.  So for a very simple example, if you owed Federal $260 last year and you get paid every week, 260 divided by 52 paychecks is 5.  So you'd have an additional $5 withheld to make up the difference.  We are about to start June so you need to account for the fact that 5 months have passed so may need to up it even more for this year and then submit a new W-4 for 2025.