@rmarthens96 The software will calculate the amount of your tax liability (how much money you are responsible to pay to the IRS) based upon how much your income was, your filing status (single, married, etc.) whether you have any dependents, etc. Some (or maybe all) of what you owe will have already been paid because the employer withheld money from your paycheck and sent it to the IRS during the year. The amount the employer withheld is in box 2 of your W-2. If there was not enough withheld from your pay over the year, you could owe more and have to pay at tax filing time. If too much was withheld, then you get a tax refund of the difference between your tax liability and the amount withheld. The amount the employer held out will be in box 2 of your W-2. Keep track of your pay stubs and add up the amount withheld for federal tax. It should add up to the amount reported in box 2 of your W-2 when your employer gives you that W-2 in January.
Another poster in this thread seemed to expect that that "extra" amount he was having withheld should show up somewhere else on his W-2, and expected a bigger refund because of it. He was having a hard time understanding that all of it is reported in box 2.
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
