The Social Security tax rate is 6.2% (for the employee). If your total compensation subject to SS tax was $99,102.54 then your SS tax should have been $6,144.36 (though it might be a bit different due to accumulated error from multiple payments). The $7,020.96 shown on your W-2 is consistent with $113,241.29 in SS wages. What does Box 3 of your W-2 show? If it shows $99,102.54, then your employer withheld $876.60 too much and you are entitled to that money back. First work with the employer to get a corrected W-2 and payment of the excess. If they won't work with you, then file IRS F0rm 843.

The Medicare tax rate is 1.45% (for the employee). If your total compensation subject to Medicare tax was $99,102.54 then your Medicare tax should have been $1,436.99. The $1,686.06 shown on your W-2 is consistent with $116,280.00 in Medicare wages. What does Box 5 of your W-2 show? If it shows $99,102.54, then your employer withheld $249.07 too much and you are entitled to that money back. First work with the employer to get a corrected W-2 and payment of the excess. If they won't work with you, then again use Form 843.

If you are okay with paying an extra $1,125.67, then that's your choice.

See this is exactly why I say that I have given up and just accept that it's math that I am not supposed to understand. You guys are coming up with numbers way different than what you claim they should be. That's what I have seen all my life in the few times I have ever sat down and tried to get my head around this stuff.

You want to know the numbers behind applied physics, electrical whatnots and mechanical whatevers? No problem! I can give you those to whatever decimal place you want day in and day out.

Ask me what my tax numbers are and why they don't add up and I have no answers other than I am sure they never have added up which is why I base my work Vs time value on what I take home not what they or anyone else says. To me it's math that does not add up and the people who have the power to do anything about it clearly have zero interest in letting me know what's what behind the numbers so I can see what they are figuring.

As for getting screwed by my employer well it's entirely possible. Around here it's rare to not hear about one if once more companies getting hauled into court and loosing for cheating their employees on their owed pay Vs the contract work they took on. Especially government funded and large corporate jobs where employee pay was well defined.

 

You guys are coming up with numbers way different than what you claim they should be.

Huh? What numbers are we coming up that are different than we claim they should be?

We are coming up with numbers, based on the limited information you've given us, that are different than what your employer came up with on your W-2.

Even if your company withheld too much FICA (which is so straightforward it is hard to mess up in most circumstances), if they are reporting the actual amount withheld on the W-2 then that is probably the actual amount sent in to the feds. So the company isn't cheating you (in that they aren't lining their pockets) and you are getting credited with that as contributions to Social Security so you might, conceivably, benefit from the overpayment some day. Maybe.

Ever since my first job I've always been pretty diligent about checking my pay stubs to be sure they are correct. That's been particularly true after starting a new job or making any changes that affect my payroll. When I added my daughter only our insurance, I made darn sure that my deductions reflected the proper change in premiums. Not only was that to make sure that I wasn't getting cheated (and such cheating is almost always accidental), but I wanted to make sure that the premiums really were getting deducted so that I don't get a surprise if she ends up needing medical care and they try to say that she isn't covered.

 

Sorry I phrased that wrong.

You guys are coming up with numbers way different than they claim they should be.

It's been a long day here.

 

Sorry I phrased that wrong.

You guys are coming up with numbers way different than they claim they should be.

It's been a long day here.

Ah. Okay.

I'd love to know how they came up with those numbers. It could be that there's a bug in their software that is not making the computations correctly. That happens. You would hope that they have people that are sanity checking their numbers, but you can't count on that.

 

That's what cash is for.

That's why ALL SOURCES of income is taxable. Bribes, Fair Market Value of Prizes, overseas income, ... the IRS states ALL WORLDWIDE INCOME is taxable. Don't forget the fair market value of bartered goods and services. I'm certain all are within the rules for reporting that income.

If you paid more than 600 bucks to an individual, you should be sending them a 1099-Misc for non-employee compensation, making them subject for their own SSA, Medicare, and Income taxes. Of course they have expenses to offset the income and it's reported on Schedule C as Income.

Nothing irks me more than when a teenager, on their first job, gets their "tax form" being a 1099-Misc, making them responsible for the federal payments just so the one who controls their time and work (the employer) doesn't pay their share of the medicare and social security. I told that teenager's parents that she could report that employer to the IRS, but, reality is, their employer could fire them in retaliation.

 

Ah. Okay.

I'd love to know how they came up with those numbers. It could be that there's a bug in their software that is not making the computations correctly. That happens. You would hope that they have people that are sanity checking their numbers, but you can't count on that.

Okay? Why does the software that H&R block not catch this and where did the extra $2000 something or other the government figured I needed to pay come from as well?
Does everyones software have glitches?

For $200+ dollars I paid for less than 30 minutes of work the guy at H& R did I really think they should be catching this stuff for me.

 

Okay? Why does the software that H&R block not catch this and where did the extra $2000 something or other the government figured I needed to pay come from as well?
Does everyones software have glitches?

For $200+ dollars I paid for less than 30 minutes of work the guy at H& R did I really think they should be catching this stuff for me.

The "okay" only referred to clearing up the miscommunication.

The H&R block software almost certainly only deals with income taxes. The FICA information from the W-2 may well not even have been entered since it is completely separate from your income tax return, which is what you were paying them to do.

As for paying someone $200 to fill out a one page form containing just 14 lines, many of which are just telling you to add or subtract two prior lines, that's certainly a choice you can make.

As for the extra $2000, the only way I or anyone else could even begin to figure that out would be so see all of the relevant information. But since you don't care how much they take out as long as you have enough to live on, and since you clearly had enough to live on given that you are still with us, what's it matter?

 

As for paying someone $200 to fill out a one page form containing just 14 lines, many of which are just telling you to add or subtract two prior lines, that's certainly a choice you can make.

That was my Exes idea at the time. She figured they would get us more back than had I did it myself.

As for the extra $2000, the only way I or anyone else could even begin to figure that out would be so see all of the relevant information. But since you don't care how much they take out as long as you have enough to live on, and since you clearly had enough to live on given that you are still with us, what's it matter?

What more info do you need? My W-2 numbers are all here. I don't have any more information than that. Tax related withholdings and insurance are all that I have taken out of my pay.

All in all, no, the getting cheated doesn't matter to me. I rather expect it's going to happen and that's why I judge my pay on what I get and not anything else.

Suspecting I am getting cheated doesn't bother me . Having it proven and not being able to figure out how plus seeing that who I paid, that's supposed to be experts at this, to catch this stuff clearly didn't is what gets to me big time.

You guys have been helpful but unfortunately you have given me things to dwell on now that will bug me for some time to come plus will leave me that much more untrusting of future employers.

 

The H&R block software almost certainly only deals with income taxes.

H&R block software also deals with SS and medicare. The tax person should have noticed a difference. For instance, when they put in the box 1 info, it assumes the other two wage blocks are the same, and they are if you don't have some wage reducing deductions (think 401k). They should have inquired about the discrepancy.

TCM can revisit them with his previous three years of returns to get them all straightened out.

Due diligence is a requisite of every profession.

 

H&R block software also deals with SS and medicare. The tax person should have noticed a difference. For instance, when they put in the box 1 info, it assumes the other two wage blocks are the same, and they are if you don't have some wage reducing deductions (think 401k). They should have inquired about the discrepancy.

TCM can revisit them with his previous three years of returns to get them all straightened out.

Due diligence is a requisite of every profession.

Yeah, I asked my wife, who worked for H&R Block for a couple of years recently, and she basically said the same thing.

 

GopherT
It was a special offer; they just forgot to indicate that the dollars were Zimbabwe ones!

Hahahaha, there goes the inflation