I made 19,800.00 last year. I am single without children, why do I owe taxes?

I just finished school last year and my net pay was 16,468.55. That is a barely-get-by-living-paycheck-to-paycheck income. Why would I owe both federal and state taxes? I have to pay for rent, bills, car, insurance, and student loans!! Please help me explain, or was the tax return estimation incorrect. I haven't filed yet but I put my information into one of those calculators and that's what they said.... Sincerely, A Poor College Student in need of any type of tax return....

Public Comments

1. You owe because you didn't have enough withheld. if you're doing the same work, make sure you icrease your withholding/payments for next year.
2. Don't cry, I'm retired, worked for 25 years with an airline...and get by on less than that. I can't feel sorry for you at all.
3. Most people pay taxes. How much your refunded isn't based on whether you owe taxes, it's based on whether you overpay your taxes through withholding. If you really want a refund at the end of the year then change your W-4 and have more withheld from your weekly check. That's about the only way your going to see a refund.
4. No, the tax return estimation was probably correct. Welcome to the real world! Now, you're a participating member of society. You use up resources so, you get taxed in order to pay your fair share. Being single, and with a net pay of $16K, you're in the 15% tax bracket, meaning that every dollar you make over $8K gets taxed 15 cents. (And the percentage will get worse as you earn more.)
5. $5350 for the standard deduction, $3400 for an exemption. The rest is taxable. Did you do the Lifetime Learning Credit? Did you pay any student loan interest in 2007? Check these out, you may qualify.
6. You owe federal income tax on whatever you made over $8750, or over $5350 if you are a dependent for 2007. For state tax, the rules vary by state. If you didn't have enough withheld, then you'll have to pay the rest now. Since you don't say what you had withheld, it's impossible to know if the tax estimate is correct. You mention student loans - did you take the deduction for the interest you paid on those? That will save you a little. I realize that $19.800 isn't a huge amount of money. But people do live on a lot less than that.