Why Do we Owe?

[Ardennis3]

Married filing jointly, no kids, make roughly the same amount, own a house. We both have our employers take the maximum taxes out of paycheck so why do we have to keep owing federal?

[RayW7]

Your Federal Income Tax withheld is less the the amount of your Tax Liability at the end of the year.  

You can reduce the amount owed by adjusting your W4. Contact your HR department or employer and adjust your withholding. 

 See the following link for additional information.

Video: Why Would I Owe Federal Taxes? - TurboTax Tax Tips ...

[Ardennis3]

Can't adjust it anymore, already claiming zero. 

[MaryM428]

You can use the IRS W4 calculator to determine how much more to withhold from your pay so that you do not have a tax payment due.  

In addition to having your withholding set to zero, you can request that your employer also withhold an additional amount from each pay so that all taxes are paid for the year.

[Ardennis3]

Yes I'm aware of that but shouldn't it already be calculated correctly by my employer? Claiming zero should take more than enough out in my opinion. 

[gloriah5200]

Claiming zero exemptions will calculate more taxes to be withheld from your pay then having 0 taxes withheld/taken out.  Having an additional amount withheld is often easier to estimate at the end of the year than the amount that shows on the withholding charts.

You should visit your employer and ask them to help you look at the charts so you can figure out how much you need to have withheld and then set your withholding exemptions or amount to that.

Unfortunately, the withholding charts are constantly having changes made to them by our legislators for various reasons and do not remain constant