if i have 2 jobs, same W4's, ea/ earning the same yrly amts, why would 1 withhold 1/3 the amount of the other?

Answer 1

If I understand the question correctly, you are saying you have two jobs...you earned the same amount at both jobs for 2006, and one W-2 shows 3 times the amount of federal withholdings (box 2) as the other job's W-2 even though you claimed the same withholding on each job's W-4s?

Be sure you are referring to federal withholding on not overall "money you didn't get". If you are specifically talking about federal withholding, then I would say that there are two distinct possibilities:

1) One (or both) of your employers didn't enter the amount you put down on your W-4 correctly into their computers. This has happend to me recently. You have to stay on top of it. Some employers put down your current withholding amount "Single 2" on your paystub. Others do not.

2) The amount your employer withholds is based on how much you earn each pay period...not all year. So, for example, if you worked 3 months and earned $4,000 per month, you would have a lot more withheld than someone who worked for 12 months and earned $1,000 per month. They both earned the same amount for the year ($12,000), but one earned it faster than the other. The reason the first job withholds more is they don't know if you are going to stop working after 3 months or if you are going to work somewhere else after you leave. All they know is they pay you once per month and use the federal look-up tables to determine what the withholding on $4000 should be for someone claiming Single 2 (or whatever you claimed). The other job uses the same tables, but looks under $1000, not $4000. The withholding for $1000 is a lot less than 1/4 of the $4000 amount. Why? The US goverment has a graduated tax rate table along with standard deductions and credits. The more you make, the higher percentage of withholding you have.

So, if you earned the same amount of money at each job and you earned it at the same pace and your W-4s are exactly the same, then one (or both) employers screwed up.

Answer 2

Although local taxes do vary depending on where you work and live, and although you said you have two different jobs, I don't see how it could be such a difference. Most likely they did not follow your W4's correctly, but beware that they will tell you that you are responsible for the taxes not paid because you should see the difference on each paycheck. However, I would contact them immediately and have them correct your tax with-holdings ASAP.

Answer 3

If you told one of the companies you had two jobs, they may be using a formula that calculates the deductable based on total income (actually a good idea). For example, one job of $16,000, you might pay no taxes, while two jobs totalling $32,000 you might owe 15% of the second job.

Answer 4

It could be one is deducting your health ins and/or group life ins. premium, flexible account contribution, 401K contribution, etc.