Huge problem with Income Tax in NC...Please Help!?

Question

I work as a Co-op with IBM in RTP, NC... I'm a full-time student in Puerto Rico but I'm here doing co-op work... I just got paid $2084.44 before taxes and after taxes and medicare and stuff it came out to $1388.84...is this right? I mean I lost about 33% of my check and I need to know this is right so I can get this fixed if it's not... please let me know so I can contact finance as soon as possible...

if it helps, I have no children, I'm single and I'm renting where I live... as I said I'm a student and I want the to recieve a return when I file taxes but I didn't know federal and state tax (plus medicare) would hurt so much... if this is wrong please let me know to get this fixed!

Answer 1

Welcome to the real world. It only gets worse from here. The numbers sound right.

Your FICA is 7.65% (assuming you are an employee of someone), your Federal income tax is probably 15%, and your state income tax maybe anywhere from 0 to 9% - not sure what it is in NC. Plus they may be taking out for things like health insurance. Check your pay stub for exactly what is being taken out.

The one saving grace you have here is that they are taking the money out as if you work all year, i.e. $25,000/year. In reality, your co-op is probably 6 months or something, your real income here is probably going to be around $12,000. So, you will probably get a refund next year. Or you could adjust your W-4 with more deductions.

Keep this experience in mind next election time - don't vote for people who want the government to spend more.

Answer 2

Since you have access to a computer,you can purchase tax software to do your taxes and file a return.
The withholdings for taxes,medicare and social security are dependent on how you filled out your W-4,some tax programs have a section that will help fill out a new W-4 to change the amount withheld.
Since you are a full time student,you may get a break on your taxes.
You can also contact a local IRS office for tax questions,same for state taxes. Social Security and Medicare should be addressed to a local S.S. office if possible.