Tax FYI
Some may already know this, I had never heard of it but it sure explains a lot, thought I'd share.
Okay, when you fill out a W-4 you have some control over what percentage of your check gets taken out, depending on what you claim, single/married/etc. BUT, the thing I didn't know is that apparently there are rules governing how much a paycheck has to be before federal taxes are mandatory to be taken out automatically, and if you are a part time worker, who may not always have a regular check, this could zing you.
It sure did me. Basically, my bi-monthly paycheck from job #1 does not always equal $400 or more. Because I was claming "married - 1" that meant that no taxes were being taken out of my checks for less than $400 and even if they were just at $400-$450, only $1 was being taken out. Which is, of course, much less than what Mr. IRS is gonna ask me for at the end of the year. I mean, on the one hand there is that money accessible to me each month, but my husband and I *can not* afford to owe taxes in April.
I spoke with the person who does payroll for my company, who told me all of this, and apparently for me, claming "married, but withhold at the higher single rate" and "1" for dependents puts me about where I should be in order to (hopefully) only owe a tiny bit or at best, get a tiny refund. She recommended I look at my year to date numbers around July and adjust then if necessary.
My payroll lady also said that she'd seen many people with two part time jobs get the shaft big time - when you do your taxes you just report your total wages, and not that you got all those wages from more than one job...yeah, this explains *a bunch* about my tax return this year.
So, if you are part time you may want to contact your payroll person and talk to them about your taxes, if you've noticed you always seem to owe at the end of the year.
Okay, when you fill out a W-4 you have some control over what percentage of your check gets taken out, depending on what you claim, single/married/etc. BUT, the thing I didn't know is that apparently there are rules governing how much a paycheck has to be before federal taxes are mandatory to be taken out automatically, and if you are a part time worker, who may not always have a regular check, this could zing you.
It sure did me. Basically, my bi-monthly paycheck from job #1 does not always equal $400 or more. Because I was claming "married - 1" that meant that no taxes were being taken out of my checks for less than $400 and even if they were just at $400-$450, only $1 was being taken out. Which is, of course, much less than what Mr. IRS is gonna ask me for at the end of the year. I mean, on the one hand there is that money accessible to me each month, but my husband and I *can not* afford to owe taxes in April.
I spoke with the person who does payroll for my company, who told me all of this, and apparently for me, claming "married, but withhold at the higher single rate" and "1" for dependents puts me about where I should be in order to (hopefully) only owe a tiny bit or at best, get a tiny refund. She recommended I look at my year to date numbers around July and adjust then if necessary.
My payroll lady also said that she'd seen many people with two part time jobs get the shaft big time - when you do your taxes you just report your total wages, and not that you got all those wages from more than one job...yeah, this explains *a bunch* about my tax return this year.
So, if you are part time you may want to contact your payroll person and talk to them about your taxes, if you've noticed you always seem to owe at the end of the year.