4 ms·

Your company fucked up by not taking withholding from the bonus.

swozey 2y ago
I do get a 20% bonus at this company and I think it is attributed to that. It was my first time getting that bonus. What do I even do here? Talk to HR? I don't think I can do anything and just suck it up and pay it and expect it next year? I dunno.
- phone8675309 2y ago
  Talk to HR and ask to review your W-4. Use your W-2 and this calculator from the IRS[1] - ensure that your W-2 includes the bonus you received (I would imagine it would since you got taxed on it). That should give you the values you need to have in your W-2 to avoid a massive tax bill at the end of the year. You can also set a additional flat amount of withholding per paycheck. You get any overpayment back as a refund. [1] https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator
- tekla 2y ago
  Yes, you got a big bonus and it wasn't taxed when you got it. I don't know why you would be confused as to why your liability went up?
  - swozey 2y ago
    It absolutely was taxed. I also have never received a paycheck that wasn't pre-taxed. It was something like a $30k bonus and I received about $17kish of it. Be more condescending though, that's helpful, wise one. I didn't say I KNEW it was the issue, I said it was potentially that. The IRS doesn't say "Hey you messed up here, fix this, that's the problem." They just send you a bill, which sucks. I had NO information on my $150k house sale tax and had NO idea what information they needed to rectify it.
- whimsicalism 2y ago
  so you made 25% more than you usually do and are wondering why you have to pay more in tax?
  - swozey 2y ago
    Yep, here we go, the condescension of Hn. The point is they know my exact income and should be able to handle it, not make me figure it out at the end of the year. I have no idea why I got a random $5k bill. It could be something else. And that's the annoyance.
    - gamblor956 2y ago
      The problem is that you are blaming the IRS for something that your employer messed up during the year. The IRS doesn't know about your income until the end of the year, when it gets reported to them by your employer.
      - swozey 2y ago
        I'm not "blaming the IRS" for shit, I'm complaining that they don't give me THEIR side of the information which would massively help you (anyone) figure out issues. Fucks sake the reading comprehension on here. I'd love to hear you disprove to some omnipotent government entity, with no information from their side, that you did NOT make $150k extra cash last year. Lets go, bud. Prove your lack of $150k. You didn't make an extra $150k last year? Prove it. Show your lack of paystubs against our information that we won't provide you with. Some of you absolute mental giants think I'm crying about my anecdotes when they're literally just my examples of how the IRS gives you no information and just sends you a bill for $150k. That's the point of the post. I absolutely am not asking for your tax advice.
    - wredcoll 2y ago
      Keep in mind that they could handle it if they weren't deliberately hamstrung by republicans like grover norquist.
- tcmart14 2y ago
  It might be worth a conversation with HR and reveiwing your tax withholdings just to make sure there is not an error and misunderstanding as to how your company or the HR software is handling it. I ran into a somewhat similar situation early on at my current job, but we were able to find an issue and correct before I got hit with a nasty surprise at tax time. My issue was that my with-holdings and everything looked fine. But I was not having any federal taxes taken out on my paychecks for federal with-holdings. Turned out to be a software issue that the company who makes it was able to correct.
  - swozey 2y ago
    Thanks! I'll speak with them. I know everything is through Bamboo/whatever software nowadays so I wasn't sure if they really had any control/input on these things.
    - danans 2y ago
      > I know everything is through Bamboo/whatever software nowadays so I wasn't sure if they really had any control/input on these things. You have control, they don't. Withholdings are calculated based on elections you make on an IRS form called a W4 (which could be electronic or paper). Neither your employer nor the IRS "control" that, but there are some common case defaults. It's on each taxpayer to understand their actual tax liability situation and adjust withholdings accordingly.

I do get a 20% bonus at this company and I think it is attributed to that. It was my first time getting that bonus. What do I even do here? Talk to HR? I don't think I can do anything and just suck it up and pay it and expect it next year? I dunno.

phone8675309 2y ago
Talk to HR and ask to review your W-4. Use your W-2 and this calculator from the IRS[1] - ensure that your W-2 includes the bonus you received (I would imagine it would since you got taxed on it). That should give you the values you need to have in your W-2 to avoid a massive tax bill at the end of the year. You can also set a additional flat amount of withholding per paycheck. You get any overpayment back as a refund. [1] https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator
tekla 2y ago
Yes, you got a big bonus and it wasn't taxed when you got it. I don't know why you would be confused as to why your liability went up?
- swozey 2y ago
  It absolutely was taxed. I also have never received a paycheck that wasn't pre-taxed. It was something like a $30k bonus and I received about $17kish of it. Be more condescending though, that's helpful, wise one. I didn't say I KNEW it was the issue, I said it was potentially that. The IRS doesn't say "Hey you messed up here, fix this, that's the problem." They just send you a bill, which sucks. I had NO information on my $150k house sale tax and had NO idea what information they needed to rectify it.
whimsicalism 2y ago
so you made 25% more than you usually do and are wondering why you have to pay more in tax?
- swozey 2y ago
  Yep, here we go, the condescension of Hn. The point is they know my exact income and should be able to handle it, not make me figure it out at the end of the year. I have no idea why I got a random $5k bill. It could be something else. And that's the annoyance.
  - gamblor956 2y ago
    The problem is that you are blaming the IRS for something that your employer messed up during the year. The IRS doesn't know about your income until the end of the year, when it gets reported to them by your employer.
    - swozey 2y ago
      I'm not "blaming the IRS" for shit, I'm complaining that they don't give me THEIR side of the information which would massively help you (anyone) figure out issues. Fucks sake the reading comprehension on here. I'd love to hear you disprove to some omnipotent government entity, with no information from their side, that you did NOT make $150k extra cash last year. Lets go, bud. Prove your lack of $150k. You didn't make an extra $150k last year? Prove it. Show your lack of paystubs against our information that we won't provide you with. Some of you absolute mental giants think I'm crying about my anecdotes when they're literally just my examples of how the IRS gives you no information and just sends you a bill for $150k. That's the point of the post. I absolutely am not asking for your tax advice.
  - wredcoll 2y ago
    Keep in mind that they could handle it if they weren't deliberately hamstrung by republicans like grover norquist.
tcmart14 2y ago
It might be worth a conversation with HR and reveiwing your tax withholdings just to make sure there is not an error and misunderstanding as to how your company or the HR software is handling it. I ran into a somewhat similar situation early on at my current job, but we were able to find an issue and correct before I got hit with a nasty surprise at tax time. My issue was that my with-holdings and everything looked fine. But I was not having any federal taxes taken out on my paychecks for federal with-holdings. Turned out to be a software issue that the company who makes it was able to correct.
- swozey 2y ago
  Thanks! I'll speak with them. I know everything is through Bamboo/whatever software nowadays so I wasn't sure if they really had any control/input on these things.
  - danans 2y ago
    > I know everything is through Bamboo/whatever software nowadays so I wasn't sure if they really had any control/input on these things. You have control, they don't. Withholdings are calculated based on elections you make on an IRS form called a W4 (which could be electronic or paper). Neither your employer nor the IRS "control" that, but there are some common case defaults. It's on each taxpayer to understand their actual tax liability situation and adjust withholdings accordingly.