@HWells327 wrote:
Thank you! Yes, they have since started to withhold taxes. I make less than $50k/year. My HR convinced me not to make any catch up payments but I'm nervous that I will get a penalty come tax time and would rather just make some extra payments or a lump sum payment up front is possible.
I suspect you are over-thinking it. Unless they admit a problem with their system, the withholding may be correct, especially if you are in an hourly job and were not working very many hours at the start.
You can use the IRS withholding calculator here.
https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator
It will advise you if you are going to be short, and will suggest a payment amount or a temporary adjustment to your withholding to catch up.
You will only be penalized if you owe more than $1000 when you file your return. You also won't be penalized if your withholding was at least as much as last years tax liability; for practical purposes, that means if you had no income last year (like maybe you just started working), you won't be penalized this year no matter how short you are.
Single, no dependents, $50K of income, your federal tax would be about $4000. Will your withholding catch up to that by December?
