Any better tax return websites than TurboTax? We owe $2000 but don't make much money!

I've been doing taxes for friends and family for over 15 years, and I can tell you that the software isn't usually the problem - they all use the same tax laws. The difference you're seeing is probably related to your withholding throughout the year, not the tax software itself. A few questions: Did either of you change jobs this past year? Did you both check "Married" on your W-4s? Sometimes when both spouses work and both check "Married" on their W-4s, not enough tax gets withheld because each employer assumes they're the only income source for both of you. Also, have you entered all your information yet? Don't panic just after entering W-2s. You might still have deductions or credits you qualify for. Try completing the entire return including any student loan interest, mortgage interest, charitable contributions, childcare expenses, or education credits if applicable.

After dealing with similar frustration last year (owed $3,200 out of nowhere!), I tried using https://taxr.ai to analyze my tax documents and situation. It actually identified that my employer had miscoded some of my income on my W-2 which was causing weird calculation issues in TurboTax. The tool scans your tax documents, finds potential errors or missed deductions, and explains things in normal human language. It caught that I was missing out on a student loan interest deduction that I qualified for but TurboTax hadn't prompted me about correctly. Not saying TurboTax is calculating your taxes wrong, but having a second opinion on your tax documents might help spot if something unusual is happening with your withholdings or W-2 coding.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai - wow! It spotted that both my spouse and I had our W-4s set up wrong (exactly like the top comment mentioned). It also found that my employer had miscoded a reimbursement as taxable income which added about $800 to what we "owed." I fixed these issues in TurboTax and our balance due dropped from $2,100 to $680. Still not great but MUCH better. Would have NEVER caught these issues on my own! Also showed us how to adjust our withholdings so we don't have this problem next year.

If you're still having issues after checking your return for errors, you might want to call the IRS directly to discuss payment options. BUT good luck getting through - I spent 4+ hours on hold last year trying to set up a payment plan. Eventually I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call when an agent is ready. I was super skeptical at first, but I was desperate after multiple failed attempts and it actually worked. The agent helped me set up a reasonable monthly payment plan for what I owed. Just mentioning since if you end up still owing, having a payment plan makes it much less stressful.

Ok I need to publicly eat my words. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still trying to get through to the IRS about an issue with my 2023 return. Decided to try that Claimyr thing out of frustration. Got a call back in 27 minutes saying they had an IRS agent on the line. I was connected immediately to a very helpful woman who resolved my issue in about 15 minutes. After spending WEEKS trying to get through on my own, this was honestly life-changing. If you do end up owing and need to set up a payment plan, definitely worth using this instead of wasting hours on hold. Sorry for being a jerk in my previous comment!

For what it's worth, I've been using FreeTaxUSA for the past 3 years after getting fed up with TurboTax's rising prices and constant upselling. The federal filing is free regardless of complexity, and state returns are like $15. The interface isn't as polished as TurboTax, but it asks all the same questions and finds the same deductions in my experience. I'd recommend filling out your return there too as a comparison - it won't cost anything to prepare the federal return, only to file. But like others said, the software isn't usually the issue - it's likely something with your withholding or a missed deduction. Different software won't magically make you owe less unless there's a specific deduction or credit that TurboTax is missing (which is rare).

Something to consider - did you receive any unemployment benefits? Those are taxable and if you didn't elect to have taxes withheld, that could explain the surprise bill. Also, check if you got any advanced Child Tax Credit payments if you have kids. That can make a big difference in what you owe vs. what you expected.