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Federal income taxes are collected on a system which is based on an individual's ability to pay. Each time income is earned, the ability to pay taxes on that portion of income is realized. This "pay as you go" arrangement collects a share of tax, which is then set aside. Both wage earning employees and self-employed individuals have a responsibility to ensure that appropriate amounts of tax are being withheld. How much should be withheld each pay period and how is this calculated? What happens if I don't have enough taken out of my pay? For those who are self employed, is there guidance available on how to estimate my tax obligation? The IRS has a number of resources available to taxpayers that assist in making these determinations. Publication 919,How Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding, and Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, are both excellent resources. Additionally, the IRS has set up an interactive Withholding Calculator on their web site. This calculator will help clarify if the amounts withheld from one's pay are suitable, based on their circumstances. In order to use the calculator, you will need to have a copy of a recent pay statement as well as your most recent tax return. Wage-Earning Taxpayers As a wage earning taxpayer, your employer has a responsibility to make sure that the amounts you have requested to be withheld from your pay are submitted to the IRS in a timely manner. Depending on the size of your employer, these payments are sent to the IRS on a monthly or semiweekly deposit schedule. The amounts sent are held in trust, under an account established by your employer's Identification Number (EIN). These amounts include federal income tax, as well as both the employer's and employee's portion of social security and Medicare taxes. State tax withholding is handled separately. Amounts sent in are not housed under any type of account related to each employee's name or Social Security Number, do not earn interest, and should not be viewed as money available for investment or in the capacity of a "savings account." When your annual tax return is filed, then the IRS matches up and applies the monies withheld to what is shown in Box 2 of your Form W-2, as well as to what is claimed on your tax return. If for some reason these funds are not available, the IRS will compensate the employee and honor the amount that should have been withheld, and then pursue repayment with the employer only. Each employee is asked to fill out a Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, when they begin a new job. If you are not asked to complete one, you may want to clarify if you are being hired as an employee or a contractor. Contract income is not subject to withholding; instead of a W-2 you will receive a 1099-MISC that represents the gross pay you have earned. More on that later. There are other times when a review of your W-4 should be considered. If the end result of your tax return shows a very large refund based on your withholdings only, then you may elect to change your W-4 so that you have a greater amount of take home pay. Conversely, if your tax return demonstrates a large or unmanageable tax balance, then you will need to adjust your withholding to prevent escalating annual tax balances. Form W-4 The Form W-4 is set up to grant various allowances, or exemptions to tax. A higher number claimed on the W-4 equates to a greater amount exempt from tax withholding. A taxpayer is allowed to enter one exemption on the W-4 for each of the following circumstances: If no one can claim you as a dependent. You are single with one job or married with only one spouse working. You also get another exemption for your spouse. Each of your dependents represents another exemption. If you are eligible to file Head of Household, claim a certain amount of Child and Dependent Care Expenses, or take the Child Tax Credit, you can take up to three more exemptions. As you can see, a typical middle income family with dependent children may have a number of approved allowances. However, it is important to remember that these amounts are not compulsory. An individual may be allowed to take a certain number of exemptions, but this does not mean that they should. Remember, a greater allowance declaration may yield a tax balance come the end of the filing year. A "zero" entry on Line 5 of the W-4 will tell your employer to withhold the maximum amount, based on your annual salary and tax bracket. In addition, if you are married, you can choose to be withheld at a single rate by checking this option on Line 3. If you find that this still is not enough, you can use Line 6 to write in a dollar amount that you would like to have withheld each pay period, over and above your existing allowances. So how much is too much, and how much it too little? Each taxpayer's circumstance is different, and no one answer will apply to everyone. Some choose to have more withheld each pay period because they know they are eligible for various pre-tax and post-tax refundable credits that will offset any tax liability. Child and Dependent Care Expenses, certain Education Credits, the Child Tax Credit and the Form 5695 Residential Energy Credit are all popular examples of pre-tax credits; they reduce your taxable income but do not generate a refund on their own merit. Post-tax credits include the Earned Income Credit, the new Making Work Pay Credit and the First-Time Homebuyer Credit. These credits reduce your tax due dollar for dollar and will grant a refund once your tax has been reduced to zero. If you are eligible for the above credits, you may elect to take home more in your pocket each pay period. If you are not sure how much is the appropriate amount to have withheld, use the worksheets in Publication 919, the online IRS Withholding Calculator, or contact the IRS directly for assistance at 1-800-829-1040. One of their customer service reps will be happy to walk you through the steps. If you realize that you are not having enough taken out, make sure you adjust your W-4 immediately. If the amount that you end up owing is too great to pay off in full, send in your tax return, on time to avoid a Failure to Pay Penalty, along with Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request. If you fail to change your W-4 after you have been advised to do so, or if you owe for multiple years due to consistent under-withholding, the IRS may issue your employer a mandate to withhold your pay at the highest rate. Self Employed Taxpayers For those that are self-employed, knowing the correct amount of your tax obligation and understanding how to withhold amounts from your income is in many ways more challenging than a wage earning employee. It is your responsibility to recognize the amounts that should be withheld and sent to the IRS. An estimation of your tax and making a voluntary payment to the IRS is generally the method used by those who are self employed. Estimated tax payments are used to cover your federal income tax, as well as your Self-Employment Tax, which includes the social security and Medicare portion of your income. Page 17 of the Publication 505 (January 2010 revision) sets out the rule that should be followed when a determination is being made regarding the need to make estimated tax payments. In most cases, you must pay estimated tax if both of the following apply: You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for the current year, after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits. You expect your withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of: (a) 90% of the tax to be shown on your current tax return, or (b) 100% of the tax shown on your previous year return. In other words, if you know that your self-employment income is going to generate a tax due of at least $1,000 (your net income need only be about $9,000 to reach this threshold), and any withholdings from other income sources or eligible credits won't cover at least the majority of your tax, you should make estimated tax payments. Estimated tax payments are paid in via four periodic payments. Income earned from January to the end of March is paid in by April 15th. April 1st to May 31st income is paid in by June 15th. June to the end of August has a September 15th due date and September to the year end must be paid in by January 15th of the following calendar year. There are a number of ways to make your estimated tax payments, but the two most popular ways are pay online electronically by enrolling yourself in the Federal Tax Payment System, or by making a check or money order payment using a Form 1040-ES payment voucher. Similar to a wage-earning employee, the amount to send in is going to be based on your income levels and the tax bracket you are in. Some simply choose to set aside approximately 20% to 35% of their net self-employment income for the specified period. For a more detailed determination, see page 19 of Publication 505 under the subheading How to Figure Estimated Tax, and use the worksheet on page 20. Good diligence is needed to set aside the correct portion of tax. It may be persuasive to use the funds earmarked for taxes on other expenses, thinking you will be able to make it up later in the year. Oftentimes, these good intentions are countermanded by other factors, leaving the self-employed taxpayer with a hefty bill come tax time. Failure to make estimated tax payments may also produce a penalty, on top of any tax, interest and any other applicable penalty charges. |
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