Why do i owe?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
January 28, 2022
1 reply
1 view

Why does turbo tax say I owe money if my w-4 is correct? had my job look over everything and they said everything looks normal and they dont know why i am owing

Not A Product Question

VolvoGirl

Level 15

Do you have any other income besides the W2? Are you married? Anything change like your dependents? It could be a lot of reasons. Compare your return to last year line by line. Maybe you'll spot something you entered wrong or left out.

cathydiamondsAuthor

Level 2

I do but i had not input that info yet. Turbotax was telling me that just from my w-2. I am married and filing separately with no dependents. My w-2 from last year was very small since i had just started at this new job so theres not much to go off from but i had my job looks over it and they said everything looks as its supposed to.

VolvoGirl

Level 15

Do not look at the refund monitor until you are done entering everything.

And may I ask why you are filing separate returns? Sometimes people don't realize the differences between filing Joint and MFS. Separate is the worst way to file.

Unless you have a specific reason to file separate returns,

It is usually better to file Joint. Joint has the lowest tax rates and the highest Standard Deduction. And if you are in a Community Property state MFS gets tricky to figure out. Here's some things to consider about filing separately……

In the first place you each have to file a separate return, so that's two returns. And if you are using the Online version that means using 2 accounts and paying the fees twice.

Many people think they come out better when filing Married Filing Separate but they are probably doing it wrong. If one person itemizes deductions then the other one must itemize too, even if it's less than the standard deduction, even if it is ZERO!

And there are several credits you can't take when filing separately, like the

EITC Earned Income Tax Credit

Child Care Credit

Educational Deductions and Credits

And contributions to IRA and ROTH IRA are limited when you file MFS.

Also if you file Married Filing Separately up to 85`% of your Social Security becomes taxable right away even with zero other income.

See …….

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/married/help/is-it-better-for-a-married-couple-to-file-jointly-or-separately/00/25590