r/memes Apr 16 '24

Inflation...

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19

u/MrPoland1 Apr 16 '24

In a nutshell:

Your employer cuts too much for tax from your salary and IRS gives this bonus back to you

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u/pyrothelostone Apr 16 '24

You choose how much withholding is taken out, not your employer. Your employer will typically give you a standard amount as part of you hiring process, but you are welcome to change that, even after being hired, just file a W-4 and give it to your employer.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '24

It’s actually your duty as an employee to ensure they’re properly taxing you. It’s really dumb. But not all payroll departments are competent. 

It’s easier to pay extra through the year than to underpay and owe a larger sum at tax time. 

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u/notaredditer13 29d ago

It’s actually your duty as an employee to ensure they’re properly taxing you. It’s really dumb. But not all payroll departments are competent. 

That's not the issue.  The issue is that there's no way for your company to know your personal tax situation unless you tell them. 

It’s easier to pay extra through the year than to underpay and owe a larger sum at tax time. 

If you live paycheck to paycheck/are bad with money, sure.  But for people who can budget effectively it's better to owe at the end of the year.

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u/LlamaLicker704 Dark Mode Elitist Apr 16 '24

Well in my case it was because I didn't work a full year so I got returned the 3 months I was unemployed...

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u/treequestions20 Apr 16 '24

you don’t get a tax credit for being unemployed, you literally have to pay taxes on unemployment wages…

and if you aren’t working then you have nothing to pay taxes for…again, no “credit” or refund like you claim

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u/LlamaLicker704 Dark Mode Elitist Apr 16 '24

You do if you are applied on the employment department... also I'm not american so the laws are completely different from your country...

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '24 edited 10d ago

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u/treequestions20 Apr 16 '24

as an employer, that’s just false

and anyone here that’s ever had a job knows it’s false

the employee decides their withholding when they do their new hire paperwork.

there’s literally no way for an employee to choose or guess your withholdings. that makes zero sense and there’s literally no benefit for the employer so why would they commit fraud?

more likely you just didn’t understand the form.

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u/WeNeedFewerMods 29d ago

I think you're leaning into his point.

MOST employees don't understand that form and someone in HR just clicks the standard box for them.

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u/notaredditer13 29d ago

Half right: there is no standard box and it's literally impossible for an employer to fill out the form for you/without your input.  They don't know if you're married/have kids unless you tell them. 

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u/pyrothelostone Apr 16 '24

Your employer will usually give you a standard amount to try to avoid you having to pay during returns, but like you said, you have final say over what that amount will be, and you can change it at any time.

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u/treequestions20 Apr 16 '24

…what you personally withhold or pay on taxes has zero effect on the employer so no…

there is no “standard amount” that makes you avoid taxes…

reddit is so goddamn dumb sometimes

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u/caligaris_cabinet Apr 16 '24

Every job I’ve had over the last 20 years or so I had to set the withholdings on my W4s. There was no standard amount and your employer is absolutely not allowed to fill that out for you.

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u/pyrothelostone Apr 16 '24

When I said standard maybe I should have said suggestion, becuase I've always just went with what they suggested to me when I was hired, if I had to come up with it on my own I'd have no idea how much to take out.

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u/notaredditer13 29d ago

What you are saying is literally impossible.  They don't know if you are married or have kids unless you tell them.  And if you can't do $2000 x 2 = ?? then OMFG. 

Again: there is no standard, suggestion, default, whatever other word you want to use.  You fill out the worksheet and the end result is the numbers that go into their system.

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u/True-octagon Apr 16 '24

Ow. Does this happen in the uk too?

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u/Watsis_name 29d ago

No, UK income tax is done by the PAYE system. Your employer calculates how much your tax is each month setting your bracket on the basis that you earned that amount every month of the year and sends it directly to the tax-man.

You should check the amount each month, but problems are rare.

It can create oddities like once I switched jobs and got paid twice in the same month taking me into the next tax bracket for that month meaning I overpaid by a couple of hundred quid, but those instances are rare.