Significant tax bill due this year and accounting for 2024

[Karaskevicus20]

Hello, 

After completing the taxes for 2023 I had to pay significantly more than last year or years past.  Federal tax withheld was lower in both mine and my wife's W2 for the year.  What do i need to do to with my W4 through my employer to ensure more tax is taken out during the year to prevent this from happening again?  Thank you for your assistance.

[BillM223]

Go to the IRS's Tax Withholding Estimator. 

This will help you determine how much you should withhold.

Then work with your HR people so that your W-2 come up with this result. The IRS now has all sorts of calculations on the W-4 for people who don't know what their withholding should be, but if you know what the withholding should be, you should be able to enter that amount so that you get withheld what you need. 

Of course, if your income varies over the year, you can pay estimated taxes (1040-ES) during the year by going to Make a Payment at the IRS website.