From $2,000 refund to owing $4,700 after getting married - what happened?

What you're experiencing is a common surprise for newly married couples. This likely isn't a mistake - it's probably due to how your withholdings were calculated throughout the year versus your actual tax liability as a married couple. When you're single, your withholding is calculated based on individual tax brackets. But when you file jointly, your combined income might push you into a higher tax bracket. More importantly, if both of you were claiming the standard deduction as singles, you now only get one standard deduction as a couple (though it's larger than a single deduction, it's not double). The biggest issue is likely that neither of you adjusted your W-4s after marriage. Both of you were probably withholding at the "Single" rate, which isn't enough when your incomes are combined. This is especially true if you both earn similar amounts. The good solution is to update your W-4s with your employers ASAP for 2025. You can use the IRS withholding calculator online to figure out the right withholding. You might need to have additional amounts withheld from each paycheck to make up for this year's shortfall.

I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which really helped me understand what was happening with my taxes. After uploading my documents, it explained exactly why my tax situation changed so dramatically after getting married. In my case, it showed that both my wife and I had been claiming the standard deduction on our W-4s, not realizing that when filing jointly, we'd only get one combined standard deduction. The software analyzed our withholdings and showed that we were significantly underwithholding throughout the year. What I found most helpful was the way it compared our prior year filing to our current situation and highlighted specific line items that changed. It also suggested adjustments to our W-4s for this year to avoid the same problem.

Following up about taxr.ai - I tried it after seeing this thread and it was seriously eye-opening! Uploaded my W-2s and last year's return, and within minutes it showed exactly why my husband and I owed so much this year. Turns out we were both claiming "Single" withholding status all year, plus we both have side gigs that weren't withholding enough. The analysis showed specifically how much each factor contributed to our surprise tax bill. The best part was the customized W-4 guidance - it gave us exact figures to put on our updated W-4s so we won't have this problem next year. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with marriage tax confusion!

If you need to talk directly with the IRS about setting up a payment plan for what you owe, I highly recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last year - suddenly owed $3,800 after getting married and needed to set up an installment agreement. I tried calling the IRS directly for days and kept getting the "due to high call volume" message before being disconnected. Super frustrating! Then I found Claimyr and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). Basically, they wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you back when an agent is on the line. I was honestly surprised it actually worked. Used the service around 10am, and by 1pm I was talking to a real IRS agent who helped set up my payment plan. Saved me hours of frustration and hold music!

I take back what I said! I was super skeptical about Claimyr but decided to try it anyway because I was desperate to talk to the IRS about my payment options. Couldn't believe it actually worked exactly as described. I submitted my request around 8:30am, got a text saying I was in queue, and about an hour later got a call connecting me directly to an IRS rep. Didn't have to give Claimyr any personal tax info, and the IRS agent had no idea I'd used a service to get through. The agent helped me set up a 72-month payment plan for my surprise tax bill. The whole call with the actual IRS took less than 15 minutes once I was connected. Definitely using this again next time I need to deal with the IRS!

One thing nobody mentioned yet - check if either of you has tax credits that phase out at certain income levels. When you combine incomes, you might lose eligibility for credits you qualified for when filing single. Also, if one of you itemized before and the other took standard deduction, run the numbers both ways now. My wife and I found that even though we had about $27k in potential itemized deductions, the married standard deduction was still higher, so we lost the benefit of some of those deductions when filing jointly.

Make sure you look at your actual tax RATE and not just the refund/amount owed. A lot of couples don't realize that getting a refund doesn't mean you paid less tax - it just means you overpaid throughout the year. If your total tax divided by your income stayed about the same, then the issue is 100% your withholding, not a marriage penalty. I bet if you look at your W-2 boxes, you'll find you both had way less withheld than needed. Also if either of you has student loans on income-based repayment, you DEFINITELY want to look at filing separately. My payment went up $300/month after filing jointly because of my husband's income!