re: Why do I owe money in taxes this year versus last year when little has changed?

Going through your 1040 and comparing it to last year should be pretty simple. Something had to have changed. Also as someone said earlier you need to be looking at tax liability (line 63) not your refund/tax owed.

If your AGI is fairly similar, then my next thought would be to check your itemized.

quote:

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my base pay went up but that's it - still within the same bracket.

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Do you itemize? Did this change?

Is your additional income causing phaseouts of itemized deductions, exemptions, and credits?

Did your withholding increase enough to "keep pace" with the increased earnings?

Is your income earned pretty evenly through the year, or does it go up and down?

quote:

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my base pay went up but that's it

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yes, that would probably be it