Why do I owe federal taxes when I am a w-2 employee?

[DoninGA]

Because the federal income taxes that were withheld from your wages were not equal to or more than the total tax liability on your federal tax return.

Look at your Form 1040 and follow the lines on the form -

Click on Tax Tools on the left side of the online program screen. Click on Tools. Click on View Tax Summary. Click on Preview my 1040 on the left side of the screen.

[xmasbaby0]

No one can see your tax return so we can only offer our best guesses without more details from you.  The usual reason would be that you did not have enough federal tax withheld from your paychecks.   If the amount in box 2 of your W-2 is less than the amount of your tax liability ---- then you owe.

Going forward, you might want to change the W-4 you give to your employer to have more tax withheld.

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

And of course, always check your own data entries, looking for errors such as misplaced decimals or extra zeros.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/tax-payments/video-why-would-i-owe-federal-taxes/L3VXudPiN

 If you have federal tax due you can pay by mailing your payment with the 1040V voucher, (which has the address printed on it, having the payment taken out of a designated bank account, or you can pay directly on the IRS website. 

https://www.irs.gov/payments

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-can-i-pay-my-federal-taxes/00/26212

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-do-i-pay-my-irs-tax-due-with-a-check-or-mone... 

To apply for a payment plan with the IRS

Apply Online for a Payment Plan

You must pay your state tax due using the state’s preferred method of receiving payment.  For most states that will be by making a payment to the state’s own tax website, or by mailing a check or money order.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900884-what-are-my-options-for-getting-my-state-refund-or-for-pay...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901670-how-do-i-contact-my-state-department-of-revenue

[AmyC]

You did not have enough tax withheld during the year/ You can change your W4 at work to have them withhold a different amount of tax.

• You can change your W4 at work as often as you like. 
• You can also use tour Free Tax Calculators & Money Saving Tools 2023 ... - TurboTax anytime throughout the year.
• Choose a larger or smaller refund vs money in your pocket throughout the year
• When you have salary changes, you can keep up with your correct tax bracket at TurboTax Bracket Calculator.

Why do I owe taxes? - TurboTax Support - Intuit

[Hal_Al]

Q. Why do I owe federal taxes when I am a w-2 employee?

A. First,  being a W-2 employee is not, of itself, a reason for not owing taxes. It's usually a simple matter of not having enough tax withheld from your pay. It could be an error on  your part (you filled out the W-4 form at work wrong) or you employer did it wrong.  It is common for employees, without dependents, to owe tax at tax filing time. 

[Mike9241]

This is common when the taxpayer gets irregular paychecks due to the tax bracketing system. too little withheld on small paychecks and not enough withheld on large ones to make up for the small paychecks. also on certain payments, there can be a flat amount withheld that is less than your highest tax bracket.