An individual can't ever opt out of payroll taxes, that's an employer's responsibility. Income tax withholding, however, can be adjusted with a W-4. As others h

An individual can't ever opt out of payroll taxes, that's an employer's responsibility. Income tax withholding, however, can be adjusted with a W-4. As others have mentioned, though, anyone making a reasonable income is going to have to pay estimated quarterly installments or get angry letters. Setting aside the 90% thing, to your original point, paying taxes is not a voluntary thing. There is, however, at least some flexibility in how you pay them. The flip side of this is: who cares, withholding is actually fine. For a vast majority of people, estimated withholdings is pretty close, and the few percentage points one might earn on a $1k refund in the meantime just isn't worth it. In my opinion, the best easy tax situation would be that at the end of the year we can skip (most of) the filing step and I either get a check or a bill.