I need help here....I'm so friggin lost....

I sat down here trying to do my taxes...Its a mess...I thought last year was bad, but this is worse....

I need to know about what percentage should be deducted from your gross pay for federal tax, withholdings as Married-Zero??

My wife and I (I thought) both (were supposed to have) marked Married-Zero on our W4 forms.....

Well, they take about 11% out of me for federal, and then whatever for state, etc...25-30% total dependng on my OT

So I do my tax forms, and it looks like I might be paying $6000

Now, I'm no math whiz, so I might have done something wrong here...BUT...I get to looking, and my wife is having a whole THREE PERCENT held back for federal...What the heck is going on??? Since she works for a bank, she obviously gets direct deposit, and I never see a pay stub like I bring home...So I have had no idea what has been happening tax-wise

I hope this is a typo...I dont get it...She had a different job earlier this summer...Made less money, but had more held back on federal than at this new job....


If someone has an answer, I'll be in the bathroom vomiting

 

From the sounds of it not enough federal was with held. Are these new jobs since the last year or ones youve been at awhile (ie compare to previous years)??

Im a young white single male so i know they took plenty of my money without me having any input.

 

I'm full-year....She had a mid-year change....

Its obvious that enough wasnt taken out on her....Mine is around 11%...I'm assuming hers should be the same....But I'm wondering if around 10% is the right number for Married-Zero...Somebody is getting an earful tomorrow

Last year was bad...2 jobs for me, 2 for her, each 2 states, moving expenses and other deductions....Thought that mess was over..

Once again I'm paying 2 states, due to the job I left in 2004, sending me a back-pay check in 2005....What a cluster this is

 

Are you trying to do your taxes by hand? If so, I would suggest you download TAXACT, it is free and you can find it with a search. I have used it for two years and am very pleased with it. It is much easier than trying to do it by hand. You could buy TAXCUT or TURBOTAX, but they have all produced the same results for me. Some of these come with state included, which I do not need. I do not know how well they would handle more than one state.

Daniel

 

Oddly, most people I know are paying this year. Myself included. I'm not sure if the Tax tables where published wrong or what. I know with what I paid I don't feel I should have to pay more, but the numbers, when done right are what they are.

Randy

 

FWIW....Many many years ago I made a small ($79) mistake on my taxes. By the time the IRS caught the error 8 or so years passed. The fined me, applied interest and sent nasty letters to me. I owed them almost three grand for a 79 dollar misteke. So, I went to a local accountant who is an expert in tax filings, by the time it was all done, I got money back from the IRS. The lesson is, spend the cash go to an expert (non-HR Block) and leave it their hands.

 

What you're asking can't be answered without knowing your gross weekly paycheck. Just for reference, I claim "married, zero" and 28% is taken from mine. There are tax tiers based on how much you make so it's a different percentage if you make say $25K than if you make $90K.

 

I would check your W2 forms. It sounds like they might have a few more than 0 withholdings.

The $79 mistake sounds scary! People make mistakes. I am sure I have at one point or another.

 

TurboTax was the best $19.95 I have ever spent. I had a similar problem a few years ago. My wife and I both put married-zero on the W-2 and not enough money was taken out. I had two years in a row I had to pay around $2000. I changed my W-2 to take out at the higher single rate. I got $3600 back this year. I know I am loaning the government my money interest free, but it is much less stressful than worrying about whether or not I am going to have to shell out a bunch of cash.

 

I went through a similar thing as sochuck many years ago. After that episode with the irs I have mine done. It is worth the piece of mind to pay alittle to have them done right.

 

Two words....Turbo Tax. Makes doing taxes a breeze. All you have to do is fill in the blanks. No worries about calculation errors or any of that mess.

 

Ya, I had that problem too after my kids fell off my return. Then I replaced them with a $250,000 mortgage, and $5500 real estate tax bill, and problem solved!

 

I'm not dumping on Turbo Tax or othter brand of do-it yourself'ers.
But, one way to make pretty sure that your returns are filed PROPERLY is to hire a professional.

My taxes last year (04) were a royal mess, four different 1099's, massive write offs, a loss on a small business, etc.

Best $175.00 I ever spent to have a CPA do the entire return, all I had to do was have me and the wife sign it up, slap a stamp on it and send it off.
It may be a breeze with software, but having somone look at it who does it every single day for a living is the best route (IMO).
Sounds like your situation is pretty simple. When my life was simpler, with W2's, I payed her $55.00.

I'd rather pay a professional than have to even sit and think about my taxes, just call me with the bad news!

 

I about pooped myself yesterday when my buddy called me, he just got his tax return check back and they gave him $7,200 FREAKIN dollars.............good god he sucks!!! He needs a kick in the dinger for sure...............that way I can take his check and go buy my new tranny, turbo, and injectors




~Nick

 

Herrin, you need to take your tax woes to a professional and let them help you sort it out.

And for right now, you need to get a grip on your current income tax situation and see how many exemptions you and your wife are claiming so you can avoid these same cramps next year. You should have a pretty good idea on what your take-home each week should be - there should be no surprises; especially come tax time. Been there done that myself.....