Understanding what to do with Fed withholding issue as a part time employee

[rodogg_dude]

Hello All. I was recently employed at a rehabilitation house part time which i worked as for a few months. Due to employees leaving, i was given full time hours (40 hours a week) while still being part-time so i didn't qualify for full time benefits but still got paid for all the hours i did.

Around June last year, i started college classes so i dropped my hours back to the part time as 20 hours a week. I recently looked at my last paycheck for 2018 and found that my company didnt collect any Fed tax. Going back in my paystubs, it seems they stopped collecting fed taxes when i went back to part time hours. before june, they were collecting fed taxes however although they stopped collecting fed in june, they continued collecting all the other taxes up to the end of the year when i left the company.

Starting my taxes now, i am now told i owe taxes on my tax returns.

is there anything i can do about this now to plead my case and avoid the tax payments since i had no idea the company wasnt paying the fed taxes?

[Lisa995]

First check your paycheck stubs to be sure no fed withholding was taken out each week, just in case its a W2 error.  

If you didn't have any withheld, you have to pay the balance due on the tax return....you already got all your money IN your paycheck...had they withheld taxes, your take home pay each week would have been less.


Its extremely important to review your paycheck stubs for situations like this during the year, so it can be rectified prior to filing your taxes..

[rodogg_dude]

I'm confused? Are you summarizing what I already posted or suggesting how I should have paid my taxes?

As mentioned before, I checked my paystubs and fed was withheld on all paystubs before June. After June, I was doing part-time hours and It seems the company didn't withhold any fed but they did withhold all the other taxes for the entire year. I didn't notice this until I started my taxes this year and I am no longer working for the company.

My question is what can I do at this moment regarding the company not withholding the fed taxes and I was not consulted about this? Is there a claim or something I can file with the IRS about it?

That's along the line of what I'm looking for. Telling me I should be looking at my paystubs after I no longer work for the company doesn't make any sense to me and offers no help.

My question again, can anything be done at this time to help with this issue?

[Lisa995]

Many times part time jobs don't have large enough earnings to require withholding (if that's all youd been earning each week all year, no tax would be due). But at the end of the year, once combined with all your other income, you end up short.

At this point if your W2 includes the fed withholdings you saw on your paycheck stubs, then your figures are correct, if your withholdings are short, you pay the balance due on the tax return.

There's nothing you can due to avoid paying the taxes due.

[rodogg_dude]

Lisa995, thank you for your response. I file taxes with my husband so I understand better now. I appreciate your comments.

[Lisa995]

Youre welcome. 🙂

[Lisa995 · Accepted solution]

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