[USER]

It’s a tax question scenario
My husband and I have always broke even and we’ve been ok with that.

Our situation this year compared to last year is the exact same except that we had a baby in 2024 so I was expecting a little refund. Instead we owe 1600 dollars compared to the 200 dollars we owed last year.

I was looking at the comparison and for some reason we paid almost 5k less in taxes this year compared to last even though our withholdings are single/zero.

Does anyone know why that might be?

Is this an employer thing? Am I supposed to look periodically and make sure they’re withholding correctly.

I just assumed filling out a w4 would have been good enough. I did the taxes through free tax USA but was going to run it by a cpa just to make sure it’s correct before filing.

Married
140k agi
2 kids.

[Jamie]

Were all the deductions the same? Health insurance, traditional 401k, HSA, etc?

If you are claiming you are single, then enough taxes are not being withheld if your married income puts you in the next tax bracket.

I would fix that so it is correct.

For example if you are each in the 12% bracket, but together you are in the 22% bracket, then that would explain the issue right there.

I check every few months to make sure enough is being withheld. This is a good practice for everyone.

[Brittany]

Did you use any leave benefits that may have been withheld differently? That’s all I can think of.

I do periodically review my withholding to make sure it’s on track.

I wouldn’t say many people do this, but I find it interesting.

[Sarah]

If you both are listed as single and zero then it will not be accurate. Look at the actual W4 for how to fill out as married filing joint – if you can just check the box or need to use the chart on the last page.

Only the higher earner will claim the dependent credit on their W4.

[David]

The two main things that hat would cause this would be increase in income or a reduction in tax credits.

Some tax credits phase out at certain income limits.

[Teresa]

Test your taxes in TaxAct. I get a nice difference between TaxAct vs Free Tax.

[Cheryl]

I don’t have any advice, but I also owed for the first time in a long time. I usually end up getting a couple hundred back.

Nothing changed in my status, work, or household.

Seemed odd to me, too.

[Author]

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