Taxes by your employer are withheld based on The IRS Tax Table which uses your taxable income to determine how much to withhold. Your taxable income for purposes of the employer withholding taxes is your gross income minus your standard deduction. The intent is to have the exact right amount withheld, based on your filing status without consideration of credits or other deductions.
If you are paid weekly, your employer will withhold taxes based on that table for the week. If you make $250 per week every week for the entire year, then your total income for the year would be $13,000 ($250x52). If your total income for the year is $13,000, then you have no tax liability for the year because you have earned less than the standard deduction, which for 2025 as a single person is $15,000. So you would not have anything withheld.
On the weeks you earn say $500, then your taxes withheld would be based on a gross income of $26,000 and taxable income of $11,000 ($26,000-$15,000).
If you want taxes withheld more consistently, on your W-4, you can have additional withholdings of any amount you choose. You would enter this amount in Step 4 box c. Be aware, if you choose an extra amount, that amount will be withheld on top of whatever you should have withheld for the week. So if you choose $25 and you make $250 for the week, you would have $25 withheld that week. If you make $500 for the week you would have $46 withheld (the $21 from the tax table and the extra $25 that you requested additional)
The reason your state, social security and Medicare are always well above your federal is because Social Security and Medicare withhold from the first dollar you make. There is not a standard deduction from your income to calculate. So no matter how little you earn, you will be taxed 6.2% for social security and 1.45% for Medicare. State rules vary, but if your state is consistent as well, then you likely live in a flat rate state like PA which taxes all of your income at 3.07% and does not give a standard deduction when calculating your taxes you should have withheld.
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