federal income tax not taken?

Question

I just started two jobs, and neither took out any federal income tax on my first pay check. Does anyone know a reason for this? Is it something I may have filled out wrong in my w4? All that is take is soc., mediacre, state and city-thanks

Answer 1

If they are both part-time jobs, then it's possible that's what the withholding chart shows.

The chart does not account for other jobs you may have, and assumes that the pay you get from that particular job is your only income. And if it's part-time (or a small check), the chart will extrapolate that your total yearly income will not exceed the standard deduction and personal exemption amount - and therefore you'll owe noe taxes.

But if you have more than one job - this is most likely NOT true.

So what you need to do is change your w4 - having them take out an extra amount with each paycheck. There is a line for that - and you just write in the dollar amount you'd like withheld for federal tax from each paycheck.

Answer 2

If the income from each is quite low, it's possible that whatever you put on your W-4 isn't triggering any withholding. If that's the case, be careful, since when you file your return at the end of the year, the incomes from the two jobs will add together, and you'll probably end up owing. Change the W-4's to 0 allowances, or put a dollar amount on the W-4 to be taken out.

Answer 3

The amount of tax withheld depends upon your gross income for the pay period and the number of withholding exemptions that you claimed on your Form W4. For example if you are paid bi-weekly and claim one withholding exemption no tax would be withheld if your gross pay was $232.00 or less.

If you have 2 or more relatively low paying jobs it's entirely possible that no tax will ever be withheld yet you will have a signifiacnt tax bill at the end of the year when you add the income from all jobs together on your tax return.

There's a worksheet on page 2 of Form W4 for taxpayers who have multiple jobs. This will help you to ensure that enough tax is withheld from your pay to cover your tax liability. Fill out that worksheet to make sure that enough tax is withheld from your pay.