DianeW777
Expert Alumni

After you file

When your employer withholds your federal tax, for them it's just one category for all employees.  When they print the W-2s, all federal withholding that was taken based on your wages and the additional withholding for you will be one total in box 2 of your W-2.  

 

Additional withholding does not always mean you have enough federal tax withheld.  You can prepare for 2023 by comparing a check to one in 2022, to see if you need to make the additional withholding higher.  Of course that means a lower net pay check for you.

 

A simple way to know how much additional you pay is to see where you want to end up.  If you owe tax on your return, you can take that amount and divide it by the number of pay checks remaining in 2023, then add that amount to increase your additional amount withheld.

 

If you do not owe, but want a bigger refund, you can use the amount you would like to get back and use the same formula.  

 

For you to have access to all of your money you are entitled to during the year, you could try to have the least amount of withholding to cover your tax.  Some people like to have a nice refund instead.  You can change your W-4 as many times as you want throughout the year.

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