Would be very grateful for any insight because I’ve been googling for about two hours and I’m somehow even more confused than when I began.
I started a new job two weeks ago. It’s through a contract agency so it’s hourly. I work 40 hours per week, I get paid every 2 weeks, and I should be here for the duration of the year. I initially chose to withhold an additional $400 in federal income tax (I assumed that would be per paycheck but I honestly have no idea).
EDIT: I was a student until July so this will be the only income I report for 2025.
I just got my first paycheck (it’s only for one week of work because I started in the middle of a pay period). My gross pay was 2,880 and here’s the non-state tax breakdown:
$711.07 for Federal Income Tax
$178.56 for Social Security Tax
$41.76 for Medicare Tax
I realized I had no idea if I was actually withholding enough so I used the IRS estimator tool. My total pre-tax income for the year should be about $28,000 and the estimator is telling me that, with the standard deduction, my anticipated tax obligation is $1,331. I indicated that I had withheld $711.07 so far this year (the amount of federal income tax taken out of my first check). For estimated tax payments, I put 0. Based on that info, the estimator said that I will not have withheld enough for the year and the projected amount owed would be about $620. It also said that they estimate it’s no longer possible for me to withhold enough this year to fully pay for the tax I’ll owe at the end of the year. So here are my questions!
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For estimated tax payments, does that include the amount my employer automatically takes from my check every pay period?
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How much should I be withholding per pay period for the remainder of the year?
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I assume that extra 400 I withheld is represented in that federal income tax amount on my check. Is that probably true? How can I check that?
Why is the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator telling me it’s no longer possible for me to have enough federal income tax withheld to fully pay for the tax I’ll owe at the end of the year?
byu/SharpClue4526 intax
Posted by SharpClue4526
9 Comments
Is this the only job you’ve worked at all this year?
It sounds like your entries were not correct (it is easy to do this with a part year job they) and the calculator glitched out.
You’re missing something in your entries in the tools. Whether that’s withholding and wages to date or pay periods, I don’t know, but something is wrong.
Yes, the $711 already has the $400 included.
My best guess is that you’ve entered your total anticipated income ($28k) without your total estimated withholding for the remainder of the year. You may actually be okay to drop the extra $400 withholding. You only mentioned income from the job just started. Remember that the first 9 months of income will also need to be taken into account.
Estimated tax payments are not the amounts which are witheld on your paycheck. Its the amount that you pay if you have self employed income or any income from the S Corp or Partnerships.
Also if you have more than one job you should add both.
This does not make sense.
Your total estimated tax obligation for the year is $1,300 and you’re withholding at MINIMUM $700/paycheck.
With potentially 4-5 more paychecks this year, you’re total withholdings will be over $3,000+. That’s a hefty refund come [February] when you file your return.
Your total liability for the whole year as a single person with $28k income is about $1275 assuming standard deduction and no pretax deductions for health insurance, 401k contributions, or student loan interest coming off that $28k or education credits coming off the tax balance.
It seems to have gotten really close on your tax liability, so the mistake may have been in your calculation of pay periods remaining. If you left that at 0 because you don’t know what the pay frequency is, that would explain the problem.
Yes, you are WAY over withholding. Just change your W-4 to single with no additional amount. That should get you close.
>For estimated tax payments, does that include the amount my employer automatically takes from my check every pay period?
No.
>How much should I be withholding per pay period for the remainder of the year?
Zero extra at most. If you don’t want a refund (a big one, mind you, likely in the ballpark of $4k), do you expect $2880/week to be typical? I could estimate what you could put on your W4 to get close, but it depends on what your typical paycheck looks like.
Your employer will certainly be withholding too much regardless. If you’re making $2880 per week, they’ll be withholding tax as if your annual income is $149,760. Someone making that much pays $25,009 in taxes, meaning you can expect $25009/26≈$962 withheld per paycheck (more like $969 since the withholding still uses an old value for the standard deduction).
>I assume that extra 400 I withheld is represented in that federal income tax amount on my check. Is that probably true? How can I check that?
Yes, it’s true. Since you made $2880 on a biweekly check, they calculate the withholding like so:
Estimated annual income=2880*26=74,880
Taxable income=74,880-15,000=59,880
Tax on that amount=8088.10
Tax per paycheck=8088.10/26≈311.08
Add the $400 you asked for=711.08
It’s off by $.01 due to rounding, but that’s the idea.
You probably entered something incorrectly, but in general I think the tool is pretty terrible.
Put down single, zero out everything else. You will still over-withhold for this year, but should be correct for next year.
I just tried entering based on the following
Filing status: Single
Do you have a job that withholds income tax: Yes
Select all that apply (blind, over 65, claim dependents, can claimed as a dependent) : none
How many jobs this year: 1
Describe income source: Salary
Describe when you will earn income: Currently hold this job but only for part of the year
Dates you expect to hold this job: 10.13.2025 to 12.31.2025
How frequently are you paid: Every two weeks
Annual Salary: $149,760 ($2,880 x 52 weeks)
Select any that apply for this job: None of the above
Other sources of income: None of the above
Withholding and estimated payments of other sources of income: Leave both boxes blank
Adjustments to income: None
Standard or itemized Deductions: Standard
Tax credits: Age on 01.01.2026: 26 (assuming you have a Masters degree or PHD since you said you are a scientist), no other credits selected
Results
Expected Tax Withholding: $4,844
Anticipated Tax Obligation: $1,427
Projected Refund: $3,417
To receive higher take home pay, complete and submit and updated Form W-4 to your employer with the recommended changes:
Step 1:
Step 1a and 1b: enter your personal information
Select Single as the filing Status
Step 2:
Leave all fields blank
Step 3: Claim Dependents:
Enter $17,772 on Step 3 for Claim Dependents
Step 4: Other Adjustments
Leave all fields blank
Step 5: Sign and Date
Sign and date the form and provide it to you employer
Please note that I extrapolated some data and made assumptions based on the information you provided in the edited post and in response to other comments.
It is highly recommended that you return to the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator and go through the steps again using the correct values and responses. The fields for estimated withholding and extimated tax payments on other sources of income are only to be used if you actually have another source of income that had income tax withheld or you have or will make estimated tax payments directly to the IRS using the EFTPS portal or by mailed check & estimated tax payment voucher. The other tax credits are not typical but if you have know for a fact you will or have qualified for one or more would be the only time you would enter a value for those irems.
I hope this example will help you find the error on your orginal attemp to use the tax withholding estimator.