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My IRS account shows that I have a payment every year, what does it mean? I always get a refund and never had to pay

xiaoyin2000 — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 08:17:44 GMT

Today I logged on to my IRS account and found that I actually have a "payment history" that shows a few hundred to a few thousand dollars of payment every year. I don't understand this. I withhold way more than needed and I get a tax refund every year. I never had to pay any extra tax. What does the payment mean?

Re: My IRS account shows that I have a payment every year, what does it mean? I always get a refund and never had to pay

Bsch4477 — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 05:27:31 GMT

Does that represent your tax liability that you paid each year?

Re: My IRS account shows that I have a payment every year, what does it mean? I always get a refund and never had to pay

Mike9241 — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 06:20:35 GMT

is that your federal withholding?

Re: My IRS account shows that I have a payment every year, what does it mean? I always get a refund and never had to pay

Critter-3 — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 14:22:14 GMT

On your annual tax return a tax liability is calculated and then your withholding is used to "pay" that tax and if you overpaid thru withholding you get the excess withholding back as a REFUND. Thus the IRS shows you paid that tax and reports it as such. This doesn't mean you paid in MORE tax on the return... does it make sense now?