@pk wrote:
the employer DOES NOT ever subtract the standard / itemized deduction
The usual withholding tables/percentages DO factor in the Standard Deduction.
If the W-4 is showing NRA, the employer should be using special payroll withholding calculations that assume he does NOT qualify for the Standard Deduction.
A work-around would be to enter $15,750 (2025 amount for a single person) on line 4b of the W-4 (although the W-4 assumes a full year of working, which might not be the case for the OP). Another POSSIBLE option is to just say you are not a Nonresident Alien on the W-4, but I am unsure if that will get them confused about if they need to withhold FICA or not.
