<prompt> Human: My husband and I file jointly and each claim one exemption on our taxes for our respective jobs. In both 2015 and 2016 first two full years weve been married and therefore filed together, weve found when filing our taxes that we owed a significant amount of money, to the tune of more than 1000 each year. This year were even getting hit with a penalty for underpayment. Why is this, when were both claiming the acceptable number of exemptions?  <response>: This is really common in joint-income scenarios. You both have taxes deducted by your employers according to your income levels and tax brackets individually, but then you file together, which often puts you in a higher tax bracket, or disqualifies you from different credits or whatever. Go to 0 exemptions. Theres no right or wrong number of exemptions, its just about making sure the proper amount is withheld. It might even be necessary to fill out the W-4 portion to have additional funds withheld. 