Trouble filing taxes

Last year I made $27,772 and had $2,768 federal withheld, $1,721 social security withheld and $402 Medicare tax withheld. My federal return was around $1,000.

This year I made $35,692 and had $2,676 federal, $2,212 social security, and $517 Medicare withheld.

Upon trying to file it says I'm only getting $80 back this year but I haven't changed anything with my w-4.

Can anyone explain why this is happening?

266

Expert Alumni

Feb 2, 2021 5:18:49 AM

We can't see how you filled out your W-4 form but you may have circumstances that affected your 2019 return that you don't have in 2020. The purpose of the W-4 form is get your refund as close to $0 as possible. For 2020, with an $80 refund, the W-4 did it's job.

Here are some other possible reasons for a year-over-year refund decrease.

You had more than one job. See Why did my refund drop when I entered a second W-2?
You filled out the 2019 W-4 later in the year which means part of your federal withholding was based on your 2018 W-4.
Changes in your income or tax rate
State and local income tax deduction changes
Losing certain credits or deductions

You may want to complete a new 2021 W-4 if you want a bigger refund in 2021.

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Trouble filing taxes