September Tax Checkup – Did You Know?

Making sure that the correct amount of tax is being withheld from your paychecks is the best way to avoid an unpleasant IRS surprise next spring. Here’s a simple way to do a September withholding checkup:

– On your pay stub for the pay period ending August 31 or September 1, find your year-to-date federal income tax withholding. If the stub does not have this information, you can request it from your employer’s payroll manager.
– Calculate two-thirds (66.67%) of the total federal income tax you paid for tax year 2018. Increase this percentage if you received a raise for (or during) 2019. For example, use 70% if you received a small raise, or 75-80% if you received a substantial raise.

The amount you found in step 1 should be greater than or equal to the amount you found in step 2. If it is not, you can obtain a new W-4 Form from your employer and request that an additional amount be withheld from your paychecks. The IRS also has a withholding calculator that can be found at: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/tax-withholding-estimator.

An experienced tax pro can help you determine what this amount should be. By adjusting your withholding now, you can spread out your tax payments over several months, instead of being stuck with one large, unexpected bill in April.