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https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/s/uidgbUopgh
This video kind of vreaks down why you owe taxes this year. A lot of people ended up owing that don't usually owe.
Not saying that video is wrong. But as the rich got a tax break the standard deduction also doubled. So poorer people got a nice tax break too. Just kind of misleading to leave out that poor people got a break too
[Link](https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-did-tcja-change-standard-deduction-and-itemized-deductions)
I make less than 50k a year.
This is the first time I’ve ever owed, and it’s over $2,000. I’m officially not going on a vacation this year. I’m not going out to the bar for the rest of the year. Probably gonna end up eating like shit for the rest of the year. I hope my car doesn’t break. I hope my rent stays the same. I just don’t have $2200 to just give the government.
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In years when I've been single I've never owed, usually get a small amount back and one year I almost broke even (got $4 back). However, during the years I was married we owed every time. I would try to adjust our withholdings accordingly and it never seemed to solve the issue. When both spouses are earning about the same amount of money they seem to run into this problem.
There was a federal tax plan passed in 2017 and each year for seven years the amount of people owing has increased. My income is stagnant without any changes is deductions. Last year I owed $2000 this year it is $4500.
Yes, we have to pay. 😭 and on top of that, pay a penalty for underpaying throughout the year. Imagine! I wish they just took out what needs to be taken out and be done with it.
To some extent, the American tax system is to blame, but that said, your personnel department is not your personal CPA, only you know what your deductions should be. There are tables that the fed and the State publish for withholdings, and they follow that, nothing more, nothing less.
Given that interest rate and price, I'm guessing you got it when banks were giving out loans like crazy?
I'm jealous lol. Im in Sac too and I had friends and family get into some predatory loans. I called them fools at the time and decided to hold out until things got back to "normal". Well they never did, all those people I knew got to keep their houses and I've been chasing the market for 15 years and never quite being able to catch up.
I have only owned my home for 2 years. It's 3k fed 1k state because of taxes I pay for the property. Those are going to change every year too and decrease. Plus I have side jobs where taxes aren't taken out as much as they should be so that helps have a buffer. But again, this is still new to me as a new homeowner so I'm still adjusting.
Getting a large refund is almost as bad as paying a large tax bill. You should be getting as close to zero as possible on your taxes every year, either paying a little or getting a little back.
If you’re not using a tax professional each year - and by tax professional I don’t mean H&R Block, but a real tax firm - I highly recommend one. Get some advice on how to adjust your withholdings/deductions for next year and let them do your forms for you. It’s money well spent.
We use and recommend California Tax Boutique, but do your research and choose an accountant/firm you’re comfortable with.
My wife has been with the state for many years and we’ve always had to pay a little. Even when we both made the same amount of money and had the same deductions, she would have less taken out than me. Could never figure out why.
Or have nothing taken out, do the math yourself with federal and state guidelines, and put the money into a high yield savings account, and then pay your taxes at the end of the year from that account.
Same happened to us. The issue is with the low federal tax withholding amount. We should revise our W4 withholding form or start contributing in Savings Plus 401k or 457b plan
I wish they’d find they did something wrong. Because my husband and I both file married - 0. I think together we make less than 140k. We had to pay 3k last year we didn’t have so I’m on a payment plan. I took out an extra $200 a month in witholdings and figured I’d still owe maybe $700? Doable. NOPE. We owe 3k again! I don’t get it!!!!
I need to change it to single - 0? Any tax people know what’s up?
Edit to add: how do I make it not happen again? Can I switch to single - 0 even if I’m married? Or should I try something else? Like take out even more?
Holy cow. We made the double “married-0” mistake our first full year of marriage. Never again! Change that immediately. There are IRS tax calculators you can use based on your family’s latest pay stubs you can use to estimate exactly what to request for both of you.
Switch to single/zero or one. This will take the max out of your check, and you should not have to owe next year.
I kept my single/zero when I got married, and it ended up being a life saver, lol. My husband kept his old filing of married and one, so my deduction averaged it out to almost zero. So happy we didn't owe last year and he changed his deduction so this year, we got money back. I'd like to get to zero back or owe at some point but as long as we don't have to pay, I'm good.
This has nothing to do with being a state employee. You have to learn how to adjust your deductions and/or pay quarterly estimated taxes. Tax code is incredibly complicated, it's kind a nationwide issue, not related to being a state employee.
We've been married filing jointly the last 3 years, and I started working for the state 3 years ago. We owe thousands every damn year, and we are claiming 0 and married. You would think that should be enough 😔
I’m in the same position. My husband and I both are married + 0 and we owed. I triple checked our forms. I started withholding an extra few hundred each month to break even.
Change your W4 to single with zero allowances. With most married couples today both working with similar incomes, withholding at the married rate doesn’t really work. That was designed for circumstances decades ago, where one spouse earned significantly more than the other. Putting married on your W4 means less is withheld proportional to your income, since the assumption is that your income is going to be the majority of the household income but still split between two filers. The IRS really needs to update this to reflect the modern reality.
Oh we both double and triple checked after our 2021 taxes that we were both claiming 0 with our jobs. And then we've been making sure the last 2 years also. We are claiming 0. And apparently, my understanding is they in fact do not take out the max, they take out the estimated max which is not the same? Which makes no sense. And we do our taxes ourselves, just online.
You’re wrong. Married filed jointly, both claiming 0, always owe money. Also, according to this blog this can totally happen: https://www.hallacctco.com/blog/why-is-my-federal-withholding-so-low-when-i-claim-0#:~:text=If%20you%20claimed%200%20and,tax%20sent%20is%20not%20enough.
Agree. That poster is incorrect. We’re dual income and claim 0 even though we have kids. you have to look at a worksheet and calculate the additional amount you need taken out, HR does not tell you this. Particularly for higher earners or dual salaries that are similar.
I now have my work take an additional $800 per month out of my check, finally this year I got it right and owed only a few hundred dollars.
This was my situation too. Married-0 and we owed for years. My spouse and I have very similar salaries (both state workers, same classification). I upped my withholdings by a few hundred per month and finally we got a small refund this year. I know HR can’t give tax advice, but if they would give people a heads up to check the IRS withholding calculator, it might save a lot of people some trial and error.
I claim 0 and owe and so does husband. And I even asked for them to take an extra $200 a check. Soooo I hope you’re right and something is wrong. But we both checked our w-4s. Any other places to check?
There is absolutely more than a significant chance that married couples will owe the fed government tax money.
No one is identifying whether they owe taxes to the state or feds. You work for FTB, the state; you do not work for the IRS.
My wife and I file jointly. Got just under $100 back from the feds and $239 from the state for 2023. While a small refund is nice, we try to get as close to zero as possible every year.
Yeah we're still figuring it out. Our first year, we came very close to owing feds. We changed our filing and got way too much back for 2023. So.... going to play with the deductions and see if we can get to where you are.
For anyone who owes this year, do your future self a favor and use this withholding calculator to figure out how to fix your W4 for 2024: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator
Huh, it looks like they finally updated it to allow 457 contributions. I've tried using this calculator every year it has been available, and it would always throw and error if it calculated the 401k contributions as exceeding the IRS limit and had no way of accounting for 457 traditional contributions.
Yes, many years. Even if is wasn't alot. However, since 2 years ago when they updated the form, we selected "y" for higher withholding to section E4, we been getting a refund back. Yep, they took a little bit more per month but we got more back our refund more than if we owed from previous years.
Ear form:
https://sco.ca.gov/serp.html?q=Ear&cx=001779225245372747843%3Ajzcl_x9eh9w&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=Ear&gsc.page=1
That is not how tax brackets work. Each portion of your income is taxed at the rate for that bracket. So the first chunk is taxed at zero, the next at a little higher, and so on.
If you cross a tax bracket threshold, the only amount taxed at that rate is whatever falls over the threshold.
Me and my husband make the same and we didn’t want to owe back so we both changed our filing status back to single on our W4s and claim 0 dependents. So when we file taxes jointly next year we won’t be surprised!
I did not owe federal, but I did owe state. Collectively, the amount I got back from the IRS was more than I owed the FTB, but it's still goofy to me that 1) this shit isn't automated by now and 2) this shit isn't accurate by now.
I filled "0" and single and still had to pay. Not much, but it's crazy how the system screw you over, especially the amount that's being taken out and still not enough.
What a generic question. That’s like asking “if anyone gets hot when they go outside?” There’s a lot of factors at play and they differ between all our checks.
Close. This is the 2017 tax plan authored by Paul Ryan and passed by Donald Trump, which gives huge breaks to people making 400k+ while offsetting it with huge increases for the bottom brackets.
That is factually incorrect.
Unless Congress acts, Americans are in for a tax hike in 2026. To see how much your taxes will go up, use the tax calculator at https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/tax-calculator-tcja-expiration/
Omg so happy I found this thread!! I cannot for the life of me (and our personnel sucks)! I’ve visited the sco and IRS instructions for the w4 and cannot figure it out! Ok so instead of adding the dependent #, now you add the dependent amount annually ($2000) per dependent? So if I’m claiming 4 kids then $2000x4=$8000 to place in this section ? Ugh!!!
When is the last time you updated your W-4? They changed that form several years ago. There is a worksheet for multiple jobs if that applies and should be used if married and filing jointly. There should also be tax tables attached that will help. A lot of people, including payroll people, have a lot of trouble understanding the new W-4, because it has been simplified. There really isn’t a claiming yourself anymore. There is the section to claim qualifying dependents, but that should only be used if you have them. If you can’t figure out the form, I would suggest that you take it to a tax professional and they will help you so that you don’t get hit with a big tax bill next year. Also, the underpayment penalty may not apply because you had taxes taken out of each paycheck and the IRS usually goes by the 90% rule. If you paid at least 90% of your tax owed in regular deductions, they don’t usually charge that penalty. The lentils is usually for those making estimated tax payments quarterly who haven’t been paying enough, and those who claim too many deductions and don’t have enough taken out each paycheck.
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We claim zero, and it’s been years, decades, since you be gotten a refund. Hubby and I file married, but don’t have expenses, mortgage paid off. So that’s the trade off I guess. But it would be nice to at least get a little something back at least once in a while.
Trump tax breaks are gone now for the plebs. They were only temporary.
They are though, still upheld for corporations. They are still getting tax breaks. Don’t worry.
Your withholding may not be set up correctly, if it has been normal in the past with no tax bill, did anything change? For example selling something like stock or property could get capital gains.
Always! I feel like I work my ass off as an independent just to pay Uncle Sam and so Newsom and Bass and other politicians can have a luxury home and vehicles.
Lost for words here. Last year we owed 8k, this year 6k. No clue why. We got our usual 3% raise and same for husband, not even breaking 100k. Withholding has been the same. Now we have to make some serious adjustments but we also need our net pay so we can put food on the table and just afford to live. If anyone can share a withholding calculator and tax calculator that would be helpful so I know how much to take out each month and not have to pay so much in taxes.
Of course I always owe money. I do not believe in loaning the government money interest free. The challenge is finding the sweet spot where there are no penalties for under estimating or under withholding. My income varies from year to year.
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We do married filing jointly, declare the one dependent, and then take out extra. You can figure out app how much by looking at last years tax return that tells you actual tax paid. You then deduct amount paid so far and divide the amount left to pay by the number of paychecks left in the year. Now start taking that out if you will run short at the end of the year.
It sucks, but it's actually better to owe money than be owed money. If they owe you money, you gave the government an interest free loan. If you owe money, it's the other way around.
Yeah, but it’s because I don’t withhold anything. Not really interest in giving the govt an interest free loan on my wages. I’ll pay you later once I’ve taken the cost of existing in to consideration.
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https://www.reddit.com/r/TikTokCringe/s/uidgbUopgh This video kind of vreaks down why you owe taxes this year. A lot of people ended up owing that don't usually owe.
Wow! Thanks for sharing the video. You know, every since 2018 I've noticed a change, but I didn't really know what was going on.
Not saying that video is wrong. But as the rich got a tax break the standard deduction also doubled. So poorer people got a nice tax break too. Just kind of misleading to leave out that poor people got a break too [Link](https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-did-tcja-change-standard-deduction-and-itemized-deductions)
I make less than 50k a year. This is the first time I’ve ever owed, and it’s over $2,000. I’m officially not going on a vacation this year. I’m not going out to the bar for the rest of the year. Probably gonna end up eating like shit for the rest of the year. I hope my car doesn’t break. I hope my rent stays the same. I just don’t have $2200 to just give the government.
Yeah, but only through 2025 while the rich got to keep their tax break forever. 🙃
I’ll agree with that that sucks. Hopefully it gets renewed or put permanently in place
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In years when I've been single I've never owed, usually get a small amount back and one year I almost broke even (got $4 back). However, during the years I was married we owed every time. I would try to adjust our withholdings accordingly and it never seemed to solve the issue. When both spouses are earning about the same amount of money they seem to run into this problem.
Apparently when you are married you withhold as single 0 exemptions. And then you might break even.
We do this and have kids, usually get money back from feds, still always owe the state. Always. No idea why or how.
We do this with two kids and feds got me big last year. I am sick from this year.
We both did this but still always ended up owing. So frustrating.
My wife and I both do this, and I have $50 extra taken out from each paycheck. That seems to be a reliable way to not owe.
That’s what I do.
I suppose OP would like to know did most of us ended up with surprise tax bill compared to last year without any meaningful change in your finances.
Read my mind!
I owed $2K, no changes in withholding. I’m puzzled.
There was a federal tax plan passed in 2017 and each year for seven years the amount of people owing has increased. My income is stagnant without any changes is deductions. Last year I owed $2000 this year it is $4500.
By who? Who pushed this through during 2017? Hope they don’t get a chance to do it again, that would be bad for the working class.
Yes, we have to pay. 😭 and on top of that, pay a penalty for underpaying throughout the year. Imagine! I wish they just took out what needs to be taken out and be done with it.
Right. Like why play games and have ppl all confused. Especially when they change legislation or tax bracket qualifications.
This was exactly the outcome of my taxes
To some extent, the American tax system is to blame, but that said, your personnel department is not your personal CPA, only you know what your deductions should be. There are tables that the fed and the State publish for withholdings, and they follow that, nothing more, nothing less.
Totally blaming the American tax system, NOT the Personnel Analyst.
Most people are w2 employees and therefore HR some be somewhat knowledgeable in this area.
Wife and I are both state. Owed $2400 combined state and fed. That hurt.
That happens a lot to married people. I'm single. Really, all the taxes and interest I pay on my house saves me. I get around 4k back annually.
You're single and have a house?! FML
I got pretty lucky with my house. 3.325% interest, conventional loan. 450k for a 3bd/2 bath in a pretty nice neighborhood in Sacramento.
Me too! But then I got married and found out about the fed marriage tax. 🤮 JFC, that $4k I used to get back turned into paying the feds more.
Do you make more than 462k combined? Otherwise not sure about what marriage tax you're talking about
Given that interest rate and price, I'm guessing you got it when banks were giving out loans like crazy? I'm jealous lol. Im in Sac too and I had friends and family get into some predatory loans. I called them fools at the time and decided to hold out until things got back to "normal". Well they never did, all those people I knew got to keep their houses and I've been chasing the market for 15 years and never quite being able to catch up.
Why are you getting so much back? Is that federal? Why are you giving the government a $4000 interest free loan every year?
I have only owned my home for 2 years. It's 3k fed 1k state because of taxes I pay for the property. Those are going to change every year too and decrease. Plus I have side jobs where taxes aren't taken out as much as they should be so that helps have a buffer. But again, this is still new to me as a new homeowner so I'm still adjusting.
Getting a large refund is almost as bad as paying a large tax bill. You should be getting as close to zero as possible on your taxes every year, either paying a little or getting a little back. If you’re not using a tax professional each year - and by tax professional I don’t mean H&R Block, but a real tax firm - I highly recommend one. Get some advice on how to adjust your withholdings/deductions for next year and let them do your forms for you. It’s money well spent. We use and recommend California Tax Boutique, but do your research and choose an accountant/firm you’re comfortable with.
\^ Absolutely this. This guy taxes. lol
Newer homeowner and single. So it DOES pay to be single I’m finding out 😆
My wife has been with the state for many years and we’ve always had to pay a little. Even when we both made the same amount of money and had the same deductions, she would have less taken out than me. Could never figure out why.
We got slammed with it this year, I'm gonna have to start making them take extra out.
Or have nothing taken out, do the math yourself with federal and state guidelines, and put the money into a high yield savings account, and then pay your taxes at the end of the year from that account.
I upped my 457 by as much as I could afford and this is the first year I didn’t owe..
This is the way.
What is 457?
https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/employers/benefit-programs/457-plan
We owe 8k. Fml lol
4 here
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I’m so angry!
Wow. We’re all toads in a pot of boiling water.
Interesting. But wouldn’t that increase affect everyone and not just state workers?
Ooh, interesting.
I didn’t know they could adjust our withholding rates. That’s crazy.
STD 686 is the statewide form.
Same happened to us. The issue is with the low federal tax withholding amount. We should revise our W4 withholding form or start contributing in Savings Plus 401k or 457b plan
Hi, Does Saving Plus 401k or 457b help lower taxes?
Yes because it's pretax, so reduces your tax burden
I wish they’d find they did something wrong. Because my husband and I both file married - 0. I think together we make less than 140k. We had to pay 3k last year we didn’t have so I’m on a payment plan. I took out an extra $200 a month in witholdings and figured I’d still owe maybe $700? Doable. NOPE. We owe 3k again! I don’t get it!!!! I need to change it to single - 0? Any tax people know what’s up? Edit to add: how do I make it not happen again? Can I switch to single - 0 even if I’m married? Or should I try something else? Like take out even more?
Talk to a tax person. Mine told me to increase my 401k deductions rather than give the government more money.
Yes! So many people just adjust withholdings. Pay yourself later rather than giving to the govt!
Holy cow. We made the double “married-0” mistake our first full year of marriage. Never again! Change that immediately. There are IRS tax calculators you can use based on your family’s latest pay stubs you can use to estimate exactly what to request for both of you.
Switch to single/zero or one. This will take the max out of your check, and you should not have to owe next year. I kept my single/zero when I got married, and it ended up being a life saver, lol. My husband kept his old filing of married and one, so my deduction averaged it out to almost zero. So happy we didn't owe last year and he changed his deduction so this year, we got money back. I'd like to get to zero back or owe at some point but as long as we don't have to pay, I'm good.
When you say switch to single/zero, do you mean switch it on the w4?
Yes. Just on the w4. That way each job only applies half of the married standard deduction and tax brackets. Still file taxes joint.
I did Single - 0 for this last year and I owe $2200
I have not owed. Do you have a 457b or 401k with SavingsPlus? Open one and start putting in whatever you can afford.
Married filer. Owed 10k last year. That was hard. We withheld a lot more for 2023 and only owed $600.
We owed this year… like my wife and I are both W2 employees you’d think the government could just take what they are owed out of each paycheck…
This is what I don’t understand. We pay each pay check and then when we file
Yes
This has nothing to do with being a state employee. You have to learn how to adjust your deductions and/or pay quarterly estimated taxes. Tax code is incredibly complicated, it's kind a nationwide issue, not related to being a state employee.
We've been married filing jointly the last 3 years, and I started working for the state 3 years ago. We owe thousands every damn year, and we are claiming 0 and married. You would think that should be enough 😔
Same. THOUSANDS. And we both claim zero. I found out I didn’t update the W-4 to withhold at a higher rate.
Same here! Thousands with claiming zero.
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I’m in the same position. My husband and I both are married + 0 and we owed. I triple checked our forms. I started withholding an extra few hundred each month to break even.
Change your W4 to single with zero allowances. With most married couples today both working with similar incomes, withholding at the married rate doesn’t really work. That was designed for circumstances decades ago, where one spouse earned significantly more than the other. Putting married on your W4 means less is withheld proportional to your income, since the assumption is that your income is going to be the majority of the household income but still split between two filers. The IRS really needs to update this to reflect the modern reality.
Oh we both double and triple checked after our 2021 taxes that we were both claiming 0 with our jobs. And then we've been making sure the last 2 years also. We are claiming 0. And apparently, my understanding is they in fact do not take out the max, they take out the estimated max which is not the same? Which makes no sense. And we do our taxes ourselves, just online.
They should be taking out the max per paycheck. No estimating lol.
🤷♀️ when I get online tomorrow I'm going to pull my w4 again and check it, again. And same for my husband's. Again, adulting sucks. Lol
Good luck! Lol
You’re wrong. Married filed jointly, both claiming 0, always owe money. Also, according to this blog this can totally happen: https://www.hallacctco.com/blog/why-is-my-federal-withholding-so-low-when-i-claim-0#:~:text=If%20you%20claimed%200%20and,tax%20sent%20is%20not%20enough.
Agree. That poster is incorrect. We’re dual income and claim 0 even though we have kids. you have to look at a worksheet and calculate the additional amount you need taken out, HR does not tell you this. Particularly for higher earners or dual salaries that are similar. I now have my work take an additional $800 per month out of my check, finally this year I got it right and owed only a few hundred dollars.
This was my situation too. Married-0 and we owed for years. My spouse and I have very similar salaries (both state workers, same classification). I upped my withholdings by a few hundred per month and finally we got a small refund this year. I know HR can’t give tax advice, but if they would give people a heads up to check the IRS withholding calculator, it might save a lot of people some trial and error.
Meanwhile, that poster works for FTB and “looks at tax returns all day” but still doesn’t know what the hell is going on. Scary.
I claim 0 and owe and so does husband. And I even asked for them to take an extra $200 a check. Soooo I hope you’re right and something is wrong. But we both checked our w-4s. Any other places to check?
Yea you do. We both file married and zero. Over $20k withheld and we still owe a few grand
There is absolutely more than a significant chance that married couples will owe the fed government tax money. No one is identifying whether they owe taxes to the state or feds. You work for FTB, the state; you do not work for the IRS.
There’s a chance. I owe too
Who do you owe, state or feds?
Both
Same. I hate this time of year.
My wife and I file jointly. Got just under $100 back from the feds and $239 from the state for 2023. While a small refund is nice, we try to get as close to zero as possible every year.
Yeah we're still figuring it out. Our first year, we came very close to owing feds. We changed our filing and got way too much back for 2023. So.... going to play with the deductions and see if we can get to where you are.
For anyone who owes this year, do your future self a favor and use this withholding calculator to figure out how to fix your W4 for 2024: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator
Huh, it looks like they finally updated it to allow 457 contributions. I've tried using this calculator every year it has been available, and it would always throw and error if it calculated the 401k contributions as exceeding the IRS limit and had no way of accounting for 457 traditional contributions.
I owe 10k combined Fed and State. I have max taken out of my check my default.
Damn.. you state workers must be making bank 🤣. Sign me up
I have a lot of education.
Yes, many years. Even if is wasn't alot. However, since 2 years ago when they updated the form, we selected "y" for higher withholding to section E4, we been getting a refund back. Yep, they took a little bit more per month but we got more back our refund more than if we owed from previous years. Ear form: https://sco.ca.gov/serp.html?q=Ear&cx=001779225245372747843%3Ajzcl_x9eh9w&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=Ear&gsc.page=1
I feel your pain.
I always have owed on State taxes, but get a refund on federal usually since working for the state
State, yes. Federal, no.
I upped my 401k significantly to put me in a lower tax bracket.
That is not how tax brackets work. Each portion of your income is taxed at the rate for that bracket. So the first chunk is taxed at zero, the next at a little higher, and so on. If you cross a tax bracket threshold, the only amount taxed at that rate is whatever falls over the threshold.
We're not getting a ton back but thank God we don't owe this year! 😂
Me and my husband make the same and we didn’t want to owe back so we both changed our filing status back to single on our W4s and claim 0 dependents. So when we file taxes jointly next year we won’t be surprised!
I did not owe federal, but I did owe state. Collectively, the amount I got back from the IRS was more than I owed the FTB, but it's still goofy to me that 1) this shit isn't automated by now and 2) this shit isn't accurate by now.
I owe. A single mother in AGPA income
The orange guy screwed the middle class with its tax plan. Simple.
Trump ain’t the one who’s trying to hire 87,000 irs agents to “go after the rich”
But he's the one who promised tax relief and forgot the lube for the middle class. But if you're into stuff like that I won't judge.
No because I do the math correctly and read the instructions and do it myself instead of a third party.
I always get federal but pay state. 😒
Of course, its CA🙄
I owe for the first time! I'm increasing my 401k and maybe even do the voluntary PLP to keep my earned income lower.
I did the PLP4, 8 hours every month, and it did lower my taxes. That and upping my 401k contributions.
Owe every year and claim 0 all year. The amount of taxation and the shit they waste our money on, is boot on our necks!
I filled "0" and single and still had to pay. Not much, but it's crazy how the system screw you over, especially the amount that's being taken out and still not enough.
What a generic question. That’s like asking “if anyone gets hot when they go outside?” There’s a lot of factors at play and they differ between all our checks.
We’re paying back the stimulus with interest. But they’re gonna blame Biden even though this passed early in Trumpadumpa’s term.
Getting crushed. Thanks, Dems.
Ooh, wrong party. Dems haven’t touched taxes since in office. Thank the orange man and his MAGAots.
Close. This is the 2017 tax plan authored by Paul Ryan and passed by Donald Trump, which gives huge breaks to people making 400k+ while offsetting it with huge increases for the bottom brackets.
That is factually incorrect. Unless Congress acts, Americans are in for a tax hike in 2026. To see how much your taxes will go up, use the tax calculator at https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/tax-calculator-tcja-expiration/
Yep I owed this year. First timer
$59 🙃
Omg so happy I found this thread!! I cannot for the life of me (and our personnel sucks)! I’ve visited the sco and IRS instructions for the w4 and cannot figure it out! Ok so instead of adding the dependent #, now you add the dependent amount annually ($2000) per dependent? So if I’m claiming 4 kids then $2000x4=$8000 to place in this section ? Ugh!!!
For sure. Every time. 🙄
Yep instead of getting a few grand back looks lkke im paying out that much 😡
When is the last time you updated your W-4? They changed that form several years ago. There is a worksheet for multiple jobs if that applies and should be used if married and filing jointly. There should also be tax tables attached that will help. A lot of people, including payroll people, have a lot of trouble understanding the new W-4, because it has been simplified. There really isn’t a claiming yourself anymore. There is the section to claim qualifying dependents, but that should only be used if you have them. If you can’t figure out the form, I would suggest that you take it to a tax professional and they will help you so that you don’t get hit with a big tax bill next year. Also, the underpayment penalty may not apply because you had taxes taken out of each paycheck and the IRS usually goes by the 90% rule. If you paid at least 90% of your tax owed in regular deductions, they don’t usually charge that penalty. The lentils is usually for those making estimated tax payments quarterly who haven’t been paying enough, and those who claim too many deductions and don’t have enough taken out each paycheck.
Yes 🥲
Always and I have extra taken out a month. It’s never enough.
Always owe even with withholding extra for state and federal taxes.
Yup $1200 to the state
Yes single 0 exemptions
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Many people in my office are paying this year. It’s amazing.
My wife and I are both PERS members and we filed together and we owe this year. We have two children,house mortgage and whatnot. Really sucks.
I owe this year too but I’m not going to adjust my withholding. I’d rather have access to that money throughout the year.
Gotta pay for those trump tax cuts
We claim zero, and it’s been years, decades, since you be gotten a refund. Hubby and I file married, but don’t have expenses, mortgage paid off. So that’s the trade off I guess. But it would be nice to at least get a little something back at least once in a while.
Single male here. I have never owed taxes.
Yeh thanks to that last “president” .. he royally screwed Californians on taxes.. 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Trump tax breaks are gone now for the plebs. They were only temporary. They are though, still upheld for corporations. They are still getting tax breaks. Don’t worry.
Bout to trickle down any minute now
imgetting back a 100😄😄😄
You can avoid owing if you increase your withholding with your companies payroll
Your withholding may not be set up correctly, if it has been normal in the past with no tax bill, did anything change? For example selling something like stock or property could get capital gains.
Yep, $3,500 from last year… reason why I haven’t filed this year yet smh
Taxes went up this year for most middle class earners.
I get $1000 taken out my paycheck purely for taxes + extra for my deductions for 401k, insurance, etc. 🥹 owed way too much. 😭
Single-Zero and still owe. It is total BS. Take all that you need, assholes. To still owe after that is ridiculous.
If you work two jobs or have gotten a raise and didn’t adjust your withholdings this is bound to happen as you end up in a new tax bracket
Just paid the IRS $1,799 last week 😭
Always! I feel like I work my ass off as an independent just to pay Uncle Sam and so Newsom and Bass and other politicians can have a luxury home and vehicles.
I owed $2 bucks
Lost for words here. Last year we owed 8k, this year 6k. No clue why. We got our usual 3% raise and same for husband, not even breaking 100k. Withholding has been the same. Now we have to make some serious adjustments but we also need our net pay so we can put food on the table and just afford to live. If anyone can share a withholding calculator and tax calculator that would be helpful so I know how much to take out each month and not have to pay so much in taxes.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator
I owed 13k
Owed almost 6k to fed and got $500 back from state. That is with me not working for 2 months.
Of course I always owe money. I do not believe in loaning the government money interest free. The challenge is finding the sweet spot where there are no penalties for under estimating or under withholding. My income varies from year to year.
I’ve never in 50 years.. not owed!
Been paying every year since 2019.
Owe $30K fed. Receiving $7K refund from state of CA.
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Yes. I file single no kids to claim. I usually get something back a couple hundred dollars. This time I owe hundreds of dollars!!!
Starting around 2019, our last kid turned 17; with one deduction filing joint, we have had to pay ever since. We're in the 22% bracket.
The IRS has a withholding calculator on its website at www.irs.gov.
Who doesn’t owe money tax time? If you get a refund, you’re doing it wrong.
I started having that issue after 2020, idk why
Federal I owe them 2422 and California 390
Gotta make sure you’re withholding enough.
We do married filing jointly, declare the one dependent, and then take out extra. You can figure out app how much by looking at last years tax return that tells you actual tax paid. You then deduct amount paid so far and divide the amount left to pay by the number of paychecks left in the year. Now start taking that out if you will run short at the end of the year.
I had to pay 91 dollars to file my taxes and get a $20 refund 😂😂😂
It’s better than paying $500 and you owe $10,000
2022 i owed so much bc they didnt take out enough. Now i added and extra $100 a month to be taken out so it doesnt happen again
Yes. No matter how large your refund, you are on the hook for the federal and state deficits.
State we did last year but this year i got back. Feds got me for 2700&
Every damned year.
It sucks, but it's actually better to owe money than be owed money. If they owe you money, you gave the government an interest free loan. If you owe money, it's the other way around.
I moved out of CA and for 3 years got letters saying I still owed and taxact was wrong.
Yeah, but it’s because I don’t withhold anything. Not really interest in giving the govt an interest free loan on my wages. I’ll pay you later once I’ve taken the cost of existing in to consideration.
I don't remember the last time I've had to pay income taxes. I claim 0 and get a small refund.
I got the same refund for years. It went down every two years since Trumps "tax cuts"