W4

[Ant69]

My son filled out his W-4 when he was 17 and he filed single zero at that time he wasn’t making much and was being claimed by his dad. Now he’s 21 still works for the same company and filed his own taxes. He has not changed his W-4 and this year he owed, and when we researched it, no federal tax had been taken out of any of his paychecks even though he’s listed as single zero, could this have something to do with the fact that he originally filled out his W-4 as a minor?

[xmasbaby0]

Yes.   If he never changed his W-4 and has continued to receive paychecks without ever having any federal or state tax withheld then he owes now that he is earning more.  You cannot fix that now---he has to pay whatever he owes.  Going forward, he needs to change the W-4 to avoid this problem.

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/ 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

If you owe tax due, you have to pay it yourself by the filing deadline on April 15, 2024.

 If you have federal tax due you can pay by mailing your payment with the 1040V voucher, (which has the address printed on it, having the payment taken out of a designated bank account, or you can pay directly on the IRS website. 

https://www.irs.gov/payments

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-can-i-pay-my-federal-taxes/00/26212

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/tax-payments/help/how-do-i-pay-my-irs-tax-due-with-a-check-or-mone... 

To apply for a payment plan with the IRS

Apply Online for a Payment Plan

You must pay your state tax due using the state’s preferred method of receiving payment.  For most states that will be by making a payment to the state’s own tax website, or by mailing a check or money order.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900884-what-are-my-options-for-getting-my-state-refund-or-for-pay...

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901670-how-do-i-contact-my-state-department-of-revenue

[Vanessa A]

No.  Minors are subject to the same rules as adults.

If he made more than $13,850 the employer should have withheld federal taxes.  He may need to update his W-4 just to be sure there isn't something else going on. Or talk to his employer as he should have withholdings if he makes more than $13,850

[Ant69]

What does he change on it given it was done as single zero initially? Is there a minor or student part to it ?

[Ant69]

his employer confirmed he is at single zero and they don’t know why no fed is taken out …

[DawnC]

No, there is no difference whether he is a student or a minor.    The employer failed to withhold according to his w-4 if they did not withhold anything.   Make sure his employer is withholding tax during 2024 so it doesn't happen again.  Blank W-4 with instructions

[xmasbaby0]

Minors are subject to the same tax laws as anyone else.   They do not get a lower tax rate.   He probably has not had a problem up to now because he may not have made over the amount of the standard deduction for a single filer and did not have a tax liability.  But now he is working more and has a tax liability.   Anything over $13,850 is subject to federal tax. for 2023.  We do not know what state you are in, but he had better find out what the rates and rules are for your state, too, and make sure enough is being withheld for state tax.

[Ant69]

we are in NJ… I’m just not sure how to correct this given his W4 is at single zero already 

[Vanessa A]

How much did he earn?  You cannot correct it, the employer will need to correct it for 2024.

For 2023, he will need to pay the taxes he owes when he files. 

[bmfb1980]

Unfortunately, what's done is done and he must pay if the IRS says he owes.  Be sure to explore all options using turbotax as you might be able to use credits and deductions to lower his gross income to a point where his liability is zero - it all depends on how much gross income he actually made.  As others have mentioned about 14K is where you start giving your hard-earned money away to the government to mis-spend lol. 

The employer is not obligated to do any witholding AT ALL if you submit a W-4 that says you are not subject to witholding (ie you state you are exempt from witholding).  It's been a while since I have filled out a W-4 but you used to be able to just state a number for roughly how much the would take out - the lower the number the more that would be withheld out of your paycheck.  But looking at the form now... I don't see where you put a simple integer number anywhere and there is some obnoxious table with salaries on the top and bottom (!) and you are supposed to enter some actual dollar amount.  Good luck figuring it out - I'm trying to understand what mess they made of the W-4 since I last filled one out lol.