if employer withheld wrong amount of payroll deductions how long do they have to refund it to me?

Question

I noticed on my check that my employer witheld more taxes then they were supposed to. I then went back and checked all of my paychecks and they did this on all of them. I approached my payroll and they stated this would be refunded to me when I file my taxes next year. Is that true? Do I have to wait that long for their mistake?

Answer 1

If the employer withholds more than they are supposed to, you can't get it back until you file the tax return for the year.

You might want to know, though, that the mistake is most likely yours, not theirs. The amount of deduction is based on the information you provide to the employer. You can change that information (and the amount of your future deducitons) by giving your employer a new W-4 form:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

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Answer 2

Do not trust your employer. it's a good thing you caught it on time and brought it to their attention. Point out the fact that they should immediately correct the error and avoid further overtaxing. Money they took out of your paycheck is supposed to go to the gov't. But they are notorious to manipulate the books so all of the monies obtained might not be reported or handed over to the gov't.

Another way to circumvent thru the prob is to revise your withholding form. If you were claiming only 0, make it 1; so more money will go to you . And this should even out at the end of the yr. As before they were taking out more money, now they'll take less money.

When you file your 1040 next yr, your tax preparer should be made aware of the problem so he can claim the overpayment and your refund would be more consequently. If you have to pay, the amt required of you to pay would be less. Make sure you saved all those paystubs. ;and countercheck it against your W2. Your employer won't usually revise the paycheck to refund overpayment.;because,the money's already in the govt' s hand. So your best bet is to immediately revise the W2 withholding.

Answer 3

If it's a fairly small amount, I wouldn't worry about it, just get it when you file your taxes. Or you could take your W-4 exemptions higher for the rest of the year so they'll take out less from now on, to even things out.

They've already sent the withholding to the feds, so would be harder although not impossible for them to correct their error. I once had a large (over $1000) amount withheld in error, and the payroll dept did straighten that out and refund it to me.

Answer 4

The employer payroll department could change your deductions, for the amount, until the correct amount is reach, and then change the deductions correctly Otherwise YES you will have to wait until your filed your returns next year! PS I used to be a payroll specialist and this can be done - it is real easy to do!@

Answer 5

Yes, if they withheld too much for Federal or State income tax, then you have to wait until you file your taxes to get it back. If they withheld too much for Med, SS, or your local state taxes, like SDI if in CA, then they need to file a correction and the government will refund the overpayments.