Unsure of how to proceed with W-4 error - accidentally missed box in section 1c and now I owe money

This happens more often than you'd think! The W-4 redesign from a few years ago trips up a lot of people. Section 1c is specifically for people with multiple jobs or if you have a spouse who works. If you didn't check that box but should have, your employer likely didn't withhold enough taxes throughout the year. Unfortunately, the IRS doesn't really care about the reason you owe - whether it was a mistake or intentional. They just want their money. Your best option is to pay what you owe by the deadline to avoid penalties and interest, and then immediately submit a new, correctly filled out W-4 to your employer for this year. For the future, remember that the W-4 is basically telling your employer how much to withhold. If you check that box, they withhold more. If you don't check it when you should, they withhold less, which feels great during the year (bigger paychecks!) but results in owing money at tax time.

I had this EXACT same issue last year and was going crazy trying to figure out what went wrong. I ended up using https://taxr.ai to analyze my W-4 and tax documents to pinpoint the issue. It scanned all my forms and explained in plain English that I had missed checking the box for having investment income, which the system treats similarly to having multiple jobs. The tool actually showed me exactly where I went wrong and calculated how much I should have had withheld. It also generated a properly filled W-4 for me to submit to HR. Definitely saved me from making the same mistake again this year!

Well I owe an apology to Profile 9 because I actually tried taxr.ai after posting that skeptical comment. It actually found TWO issues with my W-4 - not just the section 1c problem but also that I hadn't accounted for some side gig income properly. The analysis explained exactly why my withholding was off by about $2,100 and showed me how to fill out a new W-4 correctly. It also gave me a heads up about a potential education credit I missed last year that I might be able to claim by filing an amended return. Definitely not what I was expecting when I tried it!

If you're still trying to work through this with the IRS, good luck getting anyone on the phone! I spent 3 weeks trying to reach a human at the IRS to discuss a similar withholding issue. Finally found https://claimyr.com and watched their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you when an agent picks up. I was able to speak with an actual IRS agent who walked me through my options, including setting up a payment plan since I couldn't pay the full amount I owed right away. Saved me hours of frustrating hold music and getting disconnected. They can't fix your W-4 issue, but they can help if you need to set up a payment arrangement with the IRS.

I feel like an idiot for being so skeptical in my previous comment. I tried Claimyr yesterday after waiting on hold for 2 hours and getting disconnected TWICE by the IRS. With Claimyr, I got a call back in about 45 minutes telling me an agent was on the line. The IRS agent helped me set up a payment plan for the $2,300 I owe due to my own W-4 error. She was actually really helpful once I could actually SPEAK to someone. Saved me so much frustration - definitely worth it just for my sanity alone.

I think people are overlooking a simple solution here. You can adjust your W-4 midyear to have extra withholding taken out to make up for the shortfall. Line 4(c) lets you specify additional withholding per paycheck. If you divide what you owe by the number of pay periods left in the year, you can catch up without having to pay a lump sum. I did this last year when I realized in June that I was going to owe about $1,200. I had an extra $100 taken out of each of my remaining 12 paychecks. It hurt a little each pay period, but way less than coming up with $1,200 all at once in April.

Has anybody here used the IRS withholding calculator on their website? Is it actually accurate? I'm trying to figure out how much to put in box 4(c) like mentioned above.

I went through almost the exact same thing last year - totally missed section 1c and ended up owing $900 when I was expecting a refund. It's such a gut punch when you're counting on that money! Here's what I learned: the IRS doesn't really negotiate on mistakes like this. You pretty much have to pay what you owe, but you do have options for HOW you pay. If $1,400 is a lot for you to come up with at once (it definitely was for me), you can set up a payment plan online through the IRS website. The fees are pretty reasonable - I think I paid like $30 to set up a 6-month plan. The most important thing is to fix your W-4 ASAP so this doesn't happen again. I actually had my HR department help me fill out a new one to make sure I got it right this time. Don't feel bad about asking for help - they see this stuff all the time. One silver lining: now that you know about this, you'll never make the same mistake again. And honestly, owing taxes isn't the worst thing - it means you had more money in your paycheck throughout the year instead of giving the government an interest-free loan. Try to think of it that way!