Projected tax, tax paid, withholding, and balance due answer different questions, so they often do not match. In Planning → Taxes, confirm the selected scenario and tax year first, then trace filing status, state, income, deductions, credits, withholding, and estimated payments before changing assumptions.
Why doesn't projected tax match what the client paid last year?
Total tax is the modeled liability for the selected year. Payments include withholding and estimated payments credited against that liability. Balance due / (refund) is the difference between modeled tax and those payments.
The amount a client wrote with last year's return can be only the remaining balance after withholding and estimates. It is not necessarily last year's total tax. Compare the matching figures from the return or scenario.
Check the selected tax scenario and year
Open Planning → Taxes → Scenarios and confirm:
the active scenario name and tax year;
filing status and tax state;
household members and entities included;
whether the scenario is baseline, imported return, or strategy alternative; and
whether a manually overridden value is still intended.
Use names such as “2026 Baseline” and “2026 $50k Roth Conversion.” Preserve a verified baseline instead of repeatedly changing one scenario until the result looks familiar.
Why is projected withholding or balance due wrong?
Review wage withholding, other withholding, and estimated payments separately. Missing estimated payments can make a correct total-tax model look like a large balance due. Entering an annual payment as monthly can overstate it twelvefold.
For wages, compare the Payroll Annualizer's projected federal and state withholding with the scenario's payment inputs. An unusual paystub, bonus, overtime, or one-time deduction can distort an annualized estimate.
Safe-harbor analysis and current-year projected liability are also different measurements. Confirm which output the advisor is reading before changing a payment recommendation.
Why is income higher than expected?
Check for:
the same wages entered manually and derived from Profile;
a monthly amount marked Annual or an annual amount marked Monthly;
duplicated Social Security or pension records;
interest or dividends represented in more than one source;
a retirement distribution entered for the wrong adult or year;
business income feeding Schedule C when it was intended as cash-flow only; or
a tax-return import plus a manual replacement amount.
Use the source or derivation indicator beside the field. A manual override can stop a value from following Profile changes until the field is returned to derived behavior.
How should RSUs and capital gains be checked?
For RSUs, separate wage income included on payroll from stock-sale proceeds and capital gain. Treating gross vest value as both wages and investment gain can double-count income.
For capital gains, confirm short-term versus long-term treatment, basis, gain amount, carryforwards, and the modeled sale year. The investment account's market value is not itself taxable gain.
Keep the baseline scenario unchanged, duplicate it, and add only the RSU vest, sale, or gain being tested. Use Compare with Show changed outputs only to isolate the tax effect.
Why does Social Security, retirement income, or Giving look wrong?
Confirm each Social Security recipient, amount mode, frequency, and timing.
Confirm pension, annuity, rental, and retirement-distribution ownership and tax treatment.
Confirm tax-deductible Giving records and any scenario override. Stored deductible Giving can affect tax analysis even when Giving is hidden from some presentation surfaces.
Do not change an unrelated deduction or filing status to offset a source-data error.
How do I isolate an unexpected tax result?
Preserve or create a verified baseline scenario.
Duplicate it for the test.
Change one material assumption.
Open Compare and make the verified scenario Base.
Turn on Show changed outputs only.
Trace the changed line back to its input.
Review total tax, payments, and balance due separately.
If many lines change, compare the scenarios' year, filing status, state, people, and derived inputs again.
When should I involve a tax professional or Kerdora Support?
Kerdora models planning scenarios; it does not prepare or file a return. Coordinate with the client's tax professional for basis, elections, entity treatment, return positions, or implementation advice.
Contact Kerdora Support when a repeatable calculation remains inconsistent after the inputs are verified. Include the household, scenario name, tax year, expected line, observed line, input source, and screenshots. Do not send tax credentials or unnecessary full identifiers.