I work part time, which I don't make enough to have federal taken out. Will I owe anything at the end of the year or will I be ok ? How does this work ?

[xmasbaby0]

You have not provided enough information.   We do not know your filing status---are you single or married?  Do you have any dependents?   Can you be claimed as someone else's dependent?   Are you a full-time student?

Will your employer be giving you a W-2?   Or are you working as an independent contractor?  

[rjs]

You can use TaxCaster to see how your tax will work out for the year.

If you are a W-2 employee, you can use the Tax Withholding Estimator on the IRS web site to see whether you should be having tax withheld.

[poorman06]

Yes I did a w2, where I claimed 0 married, we file jointly… my question is, is that I don’t make enough money per pay period to have federal tax deducted. I started this part time job the end of Sept. So only 3 months worth, till the end of the year. Will that mess things up? Will we owe ? 

[VolvoGirl]

Does your spouse have income?  Yes it will add to your total joint income so you may owe some tax on your return.   Unless the withholding from your spouse's income is enough to cover the extra tax on your income.

[poorman06]

Would it be better to ask my employer to withhold a certain amount? My husband make 100k + a year.. I’m sure his will cover it, but we won’t get as much of a return, correct? We have no kids… to bad there are not any incentives for us.. 

[rjs]

Your tax return is the form you send to the government that shows your income and calculates your tax. The money the government sends back to you is your refund.

Getting a big refund should not be your goal. You get a refund because you paid more than necessary, so you get a refund of the overpayment. A tax refund is not free money from the government. It's your own money that you sent in and you let the government hold it all year. Then they send it back to you after you file your tax return. This year the IRS got backlogged and a lot of refunds were delayed for months. If that happens, the government holds your money much longer.

Did you try the Tax Withholding Estimator on the IRS web site? It will tell you if you need to have your employer withhold tax, and it will let you adjust your withholding to get the approximate refund amount that you want.