Keeping Up With Your Tax Withholdings

This article will provide a checklist that you can use to see if you're withholding the right amount of tax from your paycheck.

OVERVIEW

Performing a Paycheck Checkup as recommended by the IRS can help ensure that you are contributing the correct amount to your individual Federal, State and Local taxes, and will help you avoid any surprises when you are filing your tax return next year. 

Taxpayers can now use the new Tax Withholding Estimator to make sure they're paying the right amount of tax as they earn it throughout the year. This user-friendly, step-by-step tool helps taxpayers effectively estimate the amount of income tax they should have withheld from wages and pension payments. 

ITEMS FOR REVIEW

Before you begin, you'll need:

  • Your most recent paystubs

  • Your most recent income tax return.

We also recommend you review the below items: 

  • Check to make sure your Form W-4 is up to date for Federal Taxes.

  • Verify your State Withholding information is accurate.

  • Review your information for any major life event changes, such as marriage, childbirth or adoption.

All of the above information can be reviewed by clicking Paystub from your Namely homepage.

The IRS recommends checking your withholding annually and when life changes occur, such as marriage, childbirth, adoption, or buying a home.  

TAX WITHHOLDING ESTIMATOR TOOL FEATURES

  • Allows taxpayers to separately enter pensions and other sources of income.

  • Makes doing a Paycheck Checkup easier for anyone who had an unexpected tax bill or a penalty when they filed this year.

  • Allows taxpayers and their spouses to easily enter wages and withholding for each job they hold.

  • Makes specific withholding recommendations for each job taxpayers and their spouses hold, clearly explains what they should do next.

 

SIGNS THAT YOU MIGHT OWE TAXES

  • You're a taxpayer who itemized in the past but now take the increased standard deduction.

  • You're a two-wage earning household.

  • You're an employee with non-wage sources of income.

  • You're a taxpayer with complex tax situations.