help me with my taxes? something is seriously wrong

the only difference between 2011 and 2012 is for 2012 my salary is up like 25k. even with that, i am still within the 25% bracket as 2011. everything else is pretty much the same, deductions the same, etc. i asked several accounting friends of mine and they have no idea

how did i get 2k back last year (4% of my income) to 300 this year (0.4%)?!?! how could it possibly drop so much?!?!

So your Adjusted Gross Income was up $25k from 2011 to 2012...how much more income tax was withheld in 2012 vs 2011?

Ignore your refund as a % of your AGI...focus on the amount of tax owed vs the amount of tax withheld for each year. Do you mind sharing your exact AGI, tax due, and tax withheld for the two years?

Also, I'm reporting your for tax fraud, as you obviously paid too little in 2011.

Quote from emelvee : So your Adjusted Gross Income was up $25k from 2011 to 2012...how much more income tax was withheld in 2012 vs 2011? Ignore your refund as a % of your AGI...focus on the amount of tax owed vs the amount of tax withheld for each year. Do you mind sharing your exact AGI, tax due, and tax withheld for the two years? Also, I'm reporting your for tax fraud, as you obviously paid too little in 2011.

i don't mind sharing but if you don't mind me asking how do i find out? i'm doing everything in turbotax so it's a quick import for me, how do i find my tax due and tax withheld?

Quote from unknown00 : i don't mind sharing but if you don't mind me asking how do i find out? i'm doing everything in turbotax so it's a quick import for me, how do i find my tax due and tax withheld?

I'm guessing you haven't finalized your 2012 return, right? Are you using a CD version, or online? I've only used the CD version - I'm pretty sure you can look at the tax return as it stands based on the information entered, before you file it. But I haven't done mine yet (I use TurboTax as well) so I'm not sure.

It's probably just that you had too much withheld in 2011. Your 2012 withholding sounds like it was very close to being right, since the goal should be to not owe a lot and not get a huge refund.

Look at me!!!! Look at me!!!!
I got a $25K raise last year

/bunny

Quote from emelvee : I'm guessing you haven't finalized your 2012 return, right? Are you using a CD version, or online? I've only used the CD version - I'm pretty sure you can look at the tax return as it stands based on the information entered, before you file it. But I haven't done mine yet (I use TurboTax as well) so I'm not sure. It's probably just that you had too much withheld in 2011. Your 2012 withholding sounds like it was very close to being right, since the goal should be to not owe a lot and not get a huge refund.

not finalized, using the local CD version. how do i check how much is withheld?

Quote from Iaaaiws : Look at me!!!! Look at me!!!! I got a $25K raise last year /bunny

no i didn't get a raise for 2011 i was only employed like 2/3 of the year and 2012 i was employed the full year

*now you know how much i make lol*

Quote from unknown00 : not finalized, using the local CD version. how do i check how much is withheld?

You said you imported - Turbotax automatically imports your W-2 data? So you don't have a hard copy of your W-2?

OP,
How much was taken out of all your paychecks for the entire year? Perhaps more was automatically deducted from your paycheck in 2011. Hence, you got more back after you did your tax return in 2011. Whereas in 2012, less was taken out.

Also, wasn't there a tax "credit" in 2011? I recall reading something about it a few weeks ago in an online article regarding new tax surprises this return season. I don't recall the specifics. But, it mentioned that ppl got a tax credit in 2011 and it'll affect the 2012 returns.

Quote from emelvee : You said you imported - Turbotax automatically imports your W-2 data? So you don't have a hard copy of your W-2?

yes it automatically imports it, i have copies of the W-2

Quote from z2g : OP, How much was taken out of all your paychecks for the entire year? Perhaps more was automatically deducted from your paycheck in 2011. Hence, you got more back after you did your tax return in 2011. Whereas in 2012, less was taken out. Also, wasn't there a tax "credit" in 2011? I recall reading something about it a few weeks ago in an online article regarding new tax surprises this return season. I don't recall the specifics. But, it mentioned that ppl got a tax credit in 2011 and it'll affect the 2012 returns.

2011 - federal income tax withheld = 18% of my wages ~ 7.8k
2012 - federal income tax withheld = 16.7% of my wages ~ 11.6k

Quote from unknown00 : yes it automatically imports it, i have copies of the W-2 2011 - federal income tax withheld = 18% of my wages ~ 7.8k 2012 - federal income tax withheld = 16.7% of my wages ~ 11.6k

Your withholding in 2011 was based on you working the entire year. Because you didn't work the whole year the tax owed was much less than it would have been. Had you made the same amount but spread out over the entire year your withholding would have been much less.

For 2012 it works out the way it should because you worked the whole year.

Quote from Iaaaiws : Your withholding in 2011 was based on you working the entire year. Because you didn't work the whole year the tax owed was much less than it would have been. Had you made the same amount but spread out over the entire year your withholding would have been much less. For 2012 it works out the way it should because you worked the whole year.

i think what you are trying to say to OP is that their salary may be 70k (random number) but because they were only employed a portion of the year the IRS looks at income earned not the yearly salary so last year OP was likely put into a much LOWER tax bracket than they would have been in if they had in fact worked the entire year?

//EDIT: talked to a professional, he explained everything to be, seems like i'm shit outta luck but it all makes sense

Deleted per your edit above.

Quote from unknown00 : //EDIT: talked to a professional, he explained everything to be, seems like i'm shit outta luck but it all makes sense

Same thing happened to me. It's bullshit . . . especially when you consider that an income tax is unconstitutional.