24% of my paycheck going to taxes - is this normal?

Your tax withholding actually sounds about right! The brackets you're looking at (10%, 12%, 22%) are just federal income tax rates. Your total tax burden includes several other components: 1) Federal income tax (those bracket rates you mentioned) 2) Social Security tax (6.2% of your income) 3) Medicare tax (1.45% of your income) 4) State income tax (varies by state, typically 3-6%) 5) Local/city taxes (if applicable in your area) When you add all these up, 24% is pretty normal for your income level. Remember that the bracket percentages are just for federal income tax, and don't include the other mandatory withholdings. To check your specific state/local tax amounts, look at your paystub - it should itemize each tax type separately. There should be lines for state withholding and any local taxes. If your paystub doesn't break this down clearly, your employer's HR department can help explain the details.

Had the exact same confusion when I started my new job! I was losing my mind trying to figure out why my take-home was so much less than I expected. Then I found this amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that completely saved me. It breaks down your entire paycheck and explains exactly where every dollar is going. I uploaded my paystub and it showed me all the different taxes being taken out - federal, state, local, Social Security, Medicare - and explained each one in plain English. It also showed me that I was actually being overwithheld on federal taxes because my W-4 wasn't filled out optimally. I've since adjusted it and now I'm bringing home about $175 more each month!

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after seeing this recommendation and WOW. I've been overpaying taxes by almost $230 every month! The tool showed me exactly how to adjust my W-4 with my employer, and it even generated the actual form pre-filled with the right numbers. Super easy process and my next paycheck already had the changes. Thanks for recommending this, literally getting over $2,700 more per year now in my pocket instead of waiting for a tax refund!

For everyone having tax questions - if you need to actually speak with someone at the IRS (which I had to do about my withholding), use Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent literally DAYS trying to get through to the IRS about why my withholding seemed excessive compared to coworkers at the same pay level. Regular IRS phone lines had me on hold for hours before disconnecting me. Claimyr had me talking to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They have this system that navigates all the IRS phone menus and holds your place in line, then calls you when an agent is about to answer. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent confirmed I had an old withholding issue from a previous employer that was still affecting my current withholding rate. Problem solved in one call!

I have to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I've been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about a missing refund. Surprisingly, it actually worked exactly as described. Got a call back in about 35 minutes telling me an agent was on the line. The IRS agent was able to find my refund (it was held up due to a mismatch between my reported W-2 and what my employer submitted). They fixed it on the spot and my refund should be processed within 2 weeks now. Would have taken me another month of trying to call them on my own. Never been so happy to be wrong!

Just want to add that your 401k contribution actually HELPS with taxes. The 6% going to retirement is pre-tax money, which means it reduces your taxable income. If you didn't have that retirement contribution, your tax percentage would likely be even higher! Also, you can check your YTD (year-to-date) tax totals on your pay stub to see exactly how much has gone to each type of tax. Federal should be listed separate from state, and FICA (Social Security + Medicare) is usually its own line item too.

I switched from having too much withheld to actually owing $3,800 at tax time last year and it was a nightmare!!! Make sure u check ur withholding status on ur W-4. If you put "single" even if ur married, or if u have multiple jobs, or if u get bonuses, it can really mess up how much they take out. Better to overwithhold a bit than owing a huge amount in April imo.

Your 24% total tax withholding is completely normal for your income level! I see a lot of people get confused about this because they only look at the federal income tax brackets, but that's just one piece of the puzzle. Here's what's likely making up that 24%: - Federal income tax: ~12-15% (based on your income) - Social Security: 6.2% - Medicare: 1.45% - State income tax: varies by state, but typically 3-6% - Any local taxes if applicable When you add these all together, 24% is right in the normal range. The good news is your 401k contribution is actually helping reduce your taxable income - without that 6% going to retirement, your tax percentage would be even higher! To see the breakdown, look for separate lines on your ADP paystub for "Federal Tax," "State Tax," "Social Security," and "Medicare." They should all be itemized separately so you can see exactly where each dollar is going.

Just wanted to add - if you're using ADP, you should be able to log into their employee portal online and see a much more detailed breakdown of your taxes. They usually have a year-to-date summary that shows exactly how much you've paid in each category (federal, state, FICA, etc.) which can help you understand where that 24% is going. Also, something to keep in mind is that your withholding might be slightly different from your actual tax liability. The withholding tables are designed to be close, but factors like dependents, deductions, credits, etc. can affect your final tax bill. You might end up with a small refund or owe a small amount when you file, even with proper withholding. If you want to optimize your take-home pay, consider running your numbers through the IRS withholding calculator once a year to make sure you're not having too much or too little withheld. It's better to get your money throughout the year rather than a big refund!

The 24% total tax rate you're seeing is absolutely normal for your income level! A lot of people get confused because they focus only on the federal income tax brackets (10%, 12%, 22%), but those percentages don't include all the other taxes that come out of your paycheck. Here's what's likely making up your 24%: - Federal income tax: probably around 10-12% effective rate for your income - Social Security tax: 6.2% (this is a flat rate on wages up to ~$168K) - Medicare tax: 1.45% (flat rate on all wages) - State income tax: varies by state, could be anywhere from 0-6%+ - Possibly local/city taxes depending on where you work So when you add federal income tax + Social Security (6.2%) + Medicare (1.45%) + state taxes, you easily get to that 24% range. To see exactly where your money is going, look at your ADP paystub - it should have separate line items for each type of tax. You can also log into your ADP employee portal online to see year-to-date totals for each tax category, which gives you an even clearer picture of your overall tax burden. The good news is your 6% 401k contribution is actually helping reduce your taxable income, so you're saving on taxes there!