This thread has been incredibly educational! I'm in a very similar situation working part-time at a local pharmacy, making about $2,000 so far this year, and I was also worried about the $0 federal withholding on my paystubs. What really put my mind at ease was understanding that the withholding system is actually working correctly for our income levels. Since we're earning well below that $13,850 standard deduction threshold for 2024, it makes perfect sense that no federal income tax would be withheld. I appreciate everyone clarifying the difference between federal income tax and FICA taxes too. I was getting confused seeing Social Security and Medicare deductions (7.65% total) while federal income tax showed $0. Now I understand that FICA is required from the first dollar earned, regardless of total income level. One thing I'd add for anyone in this situation - if you're still feeling uncertain, you can always ask to speak with someone in your company's payroll or HR department. They deal with this question all the time, especially from part-time employees, and can confirm that your withholding is being calculated correctly based on your W-4 and projected annual income. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and making this confusing topic so much clearer for those of us new to the workforce!

This thread has been such a lifesaver for me! I'm working part-time at a local tutoring center and was also completely panicking about $0 federal withholding on my paystubs. Making about $1,750 so far this year, I thought I had completely messed up my W-4 or that something was seriously wrong. Reading through everyone's explanations about how the withholding system accounts for the standard deduction has been incredibly reassuring. It finally makes sense that if your projected annual income will be well under $13,850, the system correctly calculates that you won't owe any federal income tax. What really helped me understand was the clarification about FICA taxes vs federal income tax. I was seeing Social Security and Medicare deductions (7.65%) on my paystub and getting so confused about why some taxes were coming out but not others. Now I know that FICA applies to every dollar earned while federal income tax only kicks in above the standard deduction threshold. I'm definitely going to start tracking my earnings in a spreadsheet like so many people have mentioned - it seems like such a smart way to stay on top of where I stand throughout the year. And learning about potentially qualifying for the Earned Income Credit when I file has me actually excited about tax season instead of stressed about it! Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences. This community has turned what felt like a scary financial mistake into something I actually understand and feel confident about. It's amazing how many of us part-time workers were dealing with the exact same worry!

This has been an incredibly helpful thread! I'm a new delivery driver and was completely lost about how mileage reimbursement works. Reading through all these explanations finally made it click for me. What I found most valuable was understanding that mileage reimbursement isn't actually "income" - it's just the company paying me back for vehicle expenses I incur while doing their business. The office supplies analogy someone mentioned was perfect for helping me grasp this concept. I do have one follow-up question though: If I sometimes use my own car for personal errands during my delivery shift (like grabbing lunch), how should I handle tracking those miles? I assume those personal miles shouldn't be included in any business mileage calculations, but I want to make sure I'm doing the record-keeping correctly. Also, for anyone else who was confused by their paystub presentation like I was, it really helped me to think of it this way: Your employer is essentially giving you two separate payments - one for your actual work (which gets taxed) and one to reimburse your car expenses (which doesn't get taxed). Some payroll systems show this more clearly than others, but the end result is the same - you're saving money by not paying taxes on expense reimbursements. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and knowledge here. This community is amazing for helping newcomers navigate these confusing tax situations!

I'm a tax preparer and see this confusion every single tax season! Your employer is absolutely handling this correctly, and you should be thrilled they're structuring it this way. What's happening is they're following IRS Publication 15 guidelines for accountable reimbursement plans. Since your mileage reimbursement of $0.62/mile is below the current IRS standard rate, it qualifies as a non-taxable reimbursement. This means you get the full $208 without losing any of it to federal income tax, state tax, Social Security, or Medicare taxes. If they had structured it differently and included that $208 in your gross wages, you'd be looking at roughly 22-30% in total taxes (depending on your bracket and state). That could mean losing $45-60 per week just in taxes on money that's supposed to reimburse your vehicle costs! One tip: Keep your own mileage log as backup documentation. While your employer is handling the reimbursement correctly, having your own records protects you if there are ever any discrepancies or if you need to verify the calculations. I've seen cases where payroll errors resulted in over or under-reimbursement, and having personal records made it easy to catch and correct. You're in a much better tax situation than many gig workers who have to track and deduct their own mileage expenses!

This thread is so helpful! I'm dealing with something similar at my new job. One thing I discovered is that sometimes companies use their own internal codes that aren't standard across all employers. For example, my paystub has "PARK" and "CAFE" deductions that turned out to be parking fees and cafeteria plan contributions that I had signed up for during orientation but completely forgot about. For the $95 jump, I'd also suggest checking if you recently changed your filing status or number of allowances on your W-4 form. Even small changes there can have a big impact on how much federal tax gets withheld. Also, if you're in a state with income tax, sometimes those calculations get updated mid-year based on new tax tables. One resource that helped me was my company's employee handbook - it usually has a section explaining all the benefit deductions and what they're for. And don't hesitate to ask a trusted coworker! I was embarrassed to ask HR but found out later that like half my team had the same questions when they started. The good news is once you understand your specific company's deduction codes, future paystubs will make way more sense. Hang in there!

I'm going through the exact same thing right now! Just hit my 3-month mark last week and suddenly my deductions jumped by like $80. Reading through all these responses is making me realize I probably got auto-enrolled in benefits without paying close attention to the costs. The acronym breakdown that Taylor provided is super helpful - I've been staring at "OASDI" on my paystub for weeks not knowing what it meant. And the suggestion about checking if you got a raise or bonus is spot on - I think I did get a small merit increase recently that I didn't connect to the higher deductions. I'm definitely going to try that spreadsheet idea to track patterns over time. It's so reassuring to know that literally everyone goes through this confusion when starting their first "real" job. I was honestly starting to think there was something wrong with me for not understanding basic payroll stuff! Going to schedule time with HR this week to go through everything line by line. Thanks everyone for making me feel less alone in this payroll maze!

I'm dealing with this exact situation right now and feeling so much better after reading through everyone's experiences! I filed a joint extension back in April but circumstances changed over the summer and we ended up filing separately. Just got hit with a failure-to-file penalty notice yesterday. It's really helpful to understand that this is actually a common issue and not just me being completely clueless about tax rules. The distinction between joint and separate extensions makes sense now that it's been explained, but it definitely wasn't obvious when I was filing. I'm planning to call the IRS tomorrow and specifically request "reasonable cause penalty abatement" based on the advice here. I'll emphasize that I filed the extension in good faith, misunderstood the filing status rules (which honestly aren't super clear in their publications), and filed my actual return within what I believed was the valid extension period. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories - especially hearing from tax professionals that this is a legitimate reasonable cause situation. It's such a relief to know I'm not stuck with this penalty just because I misunderstood a confusing rule!

I went through this exact situation about 18 months ago and want to share what I learned from the experience. You're absolutely right to feel confused - this is one of those tax rules that seems counterintuitive and catches a lot of people off guard. The key insight is that extensions are tied to your intended filing status at the time you submit them. When you filed that joint extension, it was only valid if you actually ended up filing jointly. Once you switched to married filing separately, you technically needed a separate extension for that filing status. However, don't despair about the penalty! This is a textbook case for reasonable cause penalty abatement. I successfully got mine removed by calling the IRS and explaining three key points: 1) I filed an extension on time showing good faith compliance, 2) I misunderstood the extension rules (which aren't clearly explained in IRS publications), and 3) I filed my actual return within what I reasonably believed was the extended deadline. The IRS agent I spoke with said they see this situation constantly and removed my penalty during that same phone call. Be sure to specifically ask for "reasonable cause penalty abatement" rather than just requesting they waive it - using the correct terminology helps frame your request properly. You have a strong case here, so don't let this stress you out too much. The IRS is surprisingly understanding about this particular confusion since their own guidance could be much clearer on this point.

Something nobody's mentioned - check if you received an UPDATED 1095-A! The marketplace often sends corrected forms in February or even March. The updated forms usually have a small checkbox marked in the top right corner indicating it's a corrected form. I spent weeks fighting with TurboTax over my 1095-A until I realized I had a corrected form sitting in my mail pile that I hadn't opened. The original form had incorrect premium amounts which is why TurboTax kept giving me errors.

I had the exact same issue with my 1095-A in TurboTax this year! After trying multiple fixes, I discovered the problem was with how TurboTax handles forms that have gaps in coverage. My marketplace coverage wasn't continuous - I had coverage January through May, then a gap, then picked it back up in September through December. TurboTax's interface doesn't handle partial year coverage very well, especially when the months aren't consecutive. The fix that worked for me was to manually override the "full year coverage" assumption in TurboTax. When you get to the 1095-A section, look for an option that says something like "I had coverage for only part of the year" or "My coverage wasn't for all 12 months." Once I selected that option and entered only the months I actually had coverage, everything processed smoothly. Also double-check that your SLCSP amounts match exactly - even a $1 difference can cause the software to crash. The marketplace sometimes rounds differently than what TurboTax expects. Hope this helps!