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My first tax complaint of the season... Login/Join 
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
posted
Part time employers that take little, or no, state taxes out. And damn little fed taxes.

I teach part time through a community college, though I arrange to avoid having them pay me as much as possible, preferring to teach on my full time employer’s dime. For 2017 they took out ZERO state taxes and about 3% for fed taxes. Luckily the gross was less than $1,500. I never look at the pay summaries because I try to avoid their $8/hr less pay as much as possible.

My wife works a part time gig, as well. Making significantly more than mine. Zero income tax taken out. Zilch. State or fed. Every bit of her PT check goes to pay off debt, so again we’ve not kept close track of deductions.

She claims single/0 and I claim single/3.

We will break even with the feds. The state of NC is probably going to get a grand from us. MFers.




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
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No, I claim single/0 on my part time gig. Because I have dealt with this in the past. WTF




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
His Royal Hiney
Picture of Rey HRH
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I don't understand that you claim 0 for your part time gig w2 but they took out 0 taxes. That's what they have tax withholding rates for.



"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
 
Posts: 19583 | Location: The Free State of Arizona - Ditat Deus | Registered: March 24, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
I don't understand that you claim 0 for your part time gig w2 but they took out 0 taxes. That's what they have tax withholding rates for.


Withholding rates are based on 1 full time job per tax return, not part time or multiple jobs. You should indicate on the W4 an additional withholding amount. For extra part time jobs the additional amount should be based on your joint returns marginal tax rate. Or, calculate the overall % of taxes paid in 2017 & check your paystubs & see if that % is withheld for all jobs. If not adjust the W4. This method will work if your 2018 income does not put you in a marginally higher bracket.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Anush,


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Posts: 4251 | Location: Nashville, Tennessee | Registered: December 16, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
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^^^Thats my understanding. $1,200 a year doesn’t warrant any taxes in my case. It wouldn’t normally be enough to throw us off. It’s the wife’s PT gig at around $15k that caught us off guard.




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Sailor1911
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Checks are so small that you never hit the bottom of the tax table because it "thinks" that's all of your income and thus you would owe not tax. In this situation, you have to use S/0 AND have a fixed amount or percentage withheld each check. Otherwise you get the result you got.




Place your clothes and weapons where you can find them in the dark.

“If in winning a race, you lose the respect of your fellow competitors, then you have won nothing” - Paul Elvstrom "The Great Dane" 1928 - 2016
 
Posts: 3758 | Location: Wichita, Kansas | Registered: March 27, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I realize this can be frustrating. Perhaps this can help: Payroll withholding is based on prescribed schedules that are driven by projected annual income. At you're part time job, the computer thinks that you're not making much money so the withholding rate is low.

You can fix this two ways.
> First, you do not have to use the same withholding exemptions for every employer. You could claim fewer exemptions on the part time jobs. (or fewer exemptions on the full time job)

> You can have any one of the employers do 'supplemental' withholding. You tell them to take a set amount out each payday. Most systems allow you do to this state only, federal only, or federal and state.

I would take a different approach -
A - having too much withheld is giving the government an interest free loan.

B - if you've had enough withheld to avoid underpayment penalty then getting within $1k is super good tax planning.




Speak softly and carry a big stick loaded Sig
 
Posts: 4887 | Location: Raleigh, North Carolina | Registered: September 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
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quote:
Originally posted by SR:
I realize this can be frustrating. Perhaps this can help: Payroll withholding is based on prescribed schedules that are driven by projected annual income. At you're part time job, the computer thinks that you're not making much money so the withholding rate is low.

You can fix this two ways.
> First, you do not have to use the same withholding exemptions for every employer. You could claim fewer exemptions on the part time jobs. (or fewer exemptions on the full time job)

> You can have any one of the employers do 'supplemental' withholding. You tell them to take a set amount out each payday. Most systems allow you do to this state only, federal only, or federal and state.

I would take a different approach -
A - having too much withheld is giving the government an interest free loan.

B - if you've had enough withheld to avoid underpayment penalty then getting within $1k is super good tax planning.


That’s been my approach for years now. At my old PT job, where I was grossing 10 times as much, I had it all balanced out. I quit that part time gig in 2016 but was eventually forced into taking this one because of my responsibilities at my real job, but refuse to get paid by them unless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s complicated.

The wife will have to add some state withholding to hers, if nothing else.




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Fighting the good fight
Picture of RogueJSK
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quote:
Originally posted by Sailor1911:
Checks are so small that you never hit the bottom of the tax table because it "thinks" that's all of your income and thus you would owe not tax. In this situation, you have to use S/0 AND have a fixed amount or percentage withheld each check. Otherwise you get the result you got.


Yep. I went through this with a part time job a couple years ago. I ended up having to specifically request that an additional ~$50 be withheld from each paycheck to cover the extra taxes.

If you'll run your numbers through one of the online withholding calculators, using the data from all your (and your spouse's) jobs, it'll tell you how much additional you should request to be withheld.

They really do work. We've gotten ours figured out to where we typically owe less than a hundred total, come tax time. Darn near perfect.

Getting ready to crunch the numbers again, in fact, due to the big changes in tax laws this year.
 
Posts: 32429 | Location: Northwest Arkansas | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Folks can have a similar problem if they get a bonus. The IRS has a supplemental rate for bonuses that can be less than their marginal rate. Had one client that had always received refunds. He was caught off guard when he learned he'd owe money with his return.




Speak softly and carry a big stick loaded Sig
 
Posts: 4887 | Location: Raleigh, North Carolina | Registered: September 27, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Savor the limelight
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That's the way the tax tables work. Your part-time employer has no clue how much you make at your full time job, so they withhold on what they pay as if that was all you earned. It's up to you to keep track of how much you make and you have the option of having extra withholding.
 
Posts: 10823 | Location: SWFL | Registered: October 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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It as been quite a while but when I was younger I worked two jobs, full time in the textile industry and P/T security guard. I always told all my employers to take the max plus 5% Fed and State.always got back on both, never have had to pay a dime to either.


SigP229R
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Posts: 6066 | Registered: March 04, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Folks can have a similar problem if they get a bonus.


This also happens when they take money out of their 401K. Tax may be as high as 49.6% on early withdrawal. Clients say "HR told me tax would be 25%".


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Posts: 4251 | Location: Nashville, Tennessee | Registered: December 16, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of sigcrazy7
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quote:
Originally posted by trapper189:
That's the way the tax tables work. Your part-time employer has no clue how much you make at your full time job, so they withhold on what they pay as if that was all you earned. It's up to you to keep track of how much you make and you have the option of having extra withholding.


^^^This

I really don't understand the OPs rant. Why would you be upset that you were not compelled to give an interest-free loan to the government? You even have the option of requesting a specific amount be withheld on a different W-4, and this can be done in the final paycheck of the year without penalty, using any job a person on the tax return holds.

Self employed people must keep track of their income and pay their taxes quarterly. Having a job doesn't abrogate a citizen's responsibility to know your tax liability and accrue for it. It sucks that four times a year I have to write a check for thousands of dollars, or I face interest and penalties. Having a job that withholds, you get off easier, because you can pay the un-withheld taxes in April without penalty. Lucky you.

Now if you say that paying taxes as a whole sucks, I'm right there with you. Mad



Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. -Epictetus
 
Posts: 8202 | Location: Utah | Registered: December 18, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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When I first started teaching at a community college part time, I told them to take out X Dollars per check extra. Of course my wife is an accountant, who worked part time at HR block for some years. That seemed to work for me for 9 plus years.


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Posts: 2794 | Location: Ohio | Registered: December 18, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
quote:
Originally posted by trapper189:
That's the way the tax tables work. Your part-time employer has no clue how much you make at your full time job, so they withhold on what they pay as if that was all you earned. It's up to you to keep track of how much you make and you have the option of having extra withholding.


^^^This

I really don't understand the OPs rant. Why would you be upset that you were not compelled to give an interest-free loan to the government? You even have the option of requesting a specific amount be withheld on a different W-4, and this can be done in the final paycheck of the year without penalty, using any job a person on the tax return holds.

Self employed people must keep track of their income and pay their taxes quarterly. Having a job doesn't abrogate a citizen's responsibility to know your tax liability and accrue for it. It sucks that four times a year I have to write a check for thousands of dollars, or I face interest and penalties. Having a job that withholds, you get off easier, because you can pay the un-withheld taxes in April without penalty. Lucky you.

Now if you say that paying taxes as a whole sucks, I'm right there with you. Mad



I've done my taxes my entire life, and have been within a couple of hundred dollars every year except two, where I had to pay in over a thousand dollars state/fed.

The monkey wrench this year was getting married and new brackets and a rental house. I did not have the experience or think to check her withholding. If anything, I expected her single rate to end up netting us a refund.

At this point it looks like the rental is going to make us break about even, or about $500 back after paying $500 into the state.




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Casuistic Thinker and Daoist
Picture of 9mmepiphany
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quote:
The monkey wrench this year was getting married and new brackets and a rental house.

Did you remember to depreciate the rental?

There usually is accelerated depreciation also available




No, Daoism isn't a religion



 
Posts: 14175 | Location: northern california | Registered: February 07, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Do No Harm,
Do Know Harm
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quote:
Originally posted by 9mmepiphany:
quote:
The monkey wrench this year was getting married and new brackets and a rental house.

Did you remember to depreciate the rental?

There usually is accelerated depreciation also available


We are using the wife’s tax lady this year, mainly because she did all the rental taxes the last two years, including the depreciation.




Knowing what one is talking about is widely admired but not strictly required here.

Although sometimes distracting, there is often a certain entertainment value to this easy standard.
-JALLEN

"All I need is a WAR ON DRUGS reference and I got myself a police thread BINGO." -jljones
 
Posts: 11446 | Location: NC | Registered: August 16, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
silence is acceptance
Picture of birddog1
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The same thing happened with my wife’s job. She only works 30 hours per week and made a little over $14,000 but not a penny of federal tax withheld. Fortunately we still got a small refund due to our daughters tuition we paid.
 
Posts: 2336 | Location: Massillon, OH | Registered: January 22, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Isn't this what you ultimately want - to owe a little bit?

The IRS and State aren't paying you interest on the excess taxes they spend 12 months collecting (and spending) from you.

And - the level of cooperation you get from the IRS when someone else files in your name (happening a lot now) and you owe - is soooo much different from the level of cooperation you get when they owe you and someone else has already filed in your name. Ask me how I know. Frown
 
Posts: 4979 | Registered: April 20, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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