Wife’s w-2 federal tax withheld wrong? Tax Year 2018

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
February 1, 2019
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My wife received her w-2. She made approximately $9,000 at a part time job, and only $27 was taken out in federal taxes even though it states on the paperwork that she claimed 0 exemptions. Is this a mistake on her employers payroll part? There should have been way more than $27 withheld?

BarbL

Employee

That appears to be correct. The amount of withholding depends upon the amount earned, as well as the W-4 paperwork completed by the employee. In her case, it was the low income that resulted in no tax being withheld, in spite of claiming zero exemptions. According to the 2018 IRS withholding tables, a married employee claiming zero exemptions will not have tax withheld if their income is below $222 per week, which is the equivalent of $11,550 per year. It sounds as if she may have exceeded that minimum weekly amount a few times during the year, resulting in just a bit of tax withheld.

To prevent this situation in 2019, she can file a new W-4 with her employer claiming zero exemptions, but also put an amount on Line 6 of the W-4 for additional withholding. She will then have that flat amount withheld, even when her income is below the threshold for withholding.

For reference, the 2018 Federal withholding tables can be found beginning on page 46 of this IRS publication.

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