Do year-to-date deductions on current paystub include both jobs I worked this year or just my current one?

The year-to-date (YTD) deductions shown on your current paystub from Company B only reflect the deductions taken while employed at Company B. Your paystub has no way of knowing about deductions from your previous employer. Each employer tracks YTD figures separately. So your Company B paystub only shows what's been withheld since you started there in May. To get your complete picture for the year, you'll need to add the final YTD amounts from your last Company A paystub to the current YTD amounts from Company B. This is actually an important thing to keep track of when you change jobs, especially if your total annual income puts you in a different tax bracket than either individual job might suggest. Sometimes people end up under-withheld because of this job-switching situation.

After struggling with the exact same confusion last year (had 3 different jobs!), I found this awesome tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me figure out my actual tax situation. I was super confused about my YTD numbers and how everything would work come tax time. What I like is that you can upload your paystubs from different jobs and it figures out your total picture, including showing you if you're on track with withholdings across multiple employers. Saved me from a surprise tax bill because it showed I was under-withholding after my job change!

I was totally wrong about taxr.ai! After my skeptical comment earlier, I decided to try it anyway since I was really confused about my withholdings across jobs. I uploaded my paystubs from both employers and it immediately showed me I was headed for a $1,200 tax bill because of the way withholding worked between my two jobs. Both employers were withholding as if their job was my only income, so I was actually under-withheld overall. I adjusted my W-4 at my current job based on the recommendation and now I should break even instead of owing. Definitely worth checking out if you've switched jobs mid-year!

If you're trying to contact the IRS to clarify how your withholdings work across multiple jobs, good luck getting through to anyone! I spent 3 weeks calling every day before I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this system that basically waits on hold with the IRS for you, then calls you when an agent is on the line. I was really confused about my withholding situation after switching jobs twice this year, and needed answers directly from the IRS. Used their service (you can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and got through to an actual human at the IRS who explained everything about how my W-2s and withholdings would work.

Ok I feel like I need to publicly admit that I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After doubting it would work, I tried it yesterday because I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about my withholding across multiple jobs. Got a call back in about 2 hours saying they had an IRS agent on the line! The agent confirmed that each employer only tracks their own withholdings, and explained exactly how to calculate if I'm having enough withheld across both jobs. Saved me hours of frustration and hold music!

One thing to watch out for with multiple jobs in the same year: Social Security tax withholding. Each employer will withhold 6.2% for Social Security up to the annual wage base limit ($147,000 in 2022), but they don't know what another employer already withheld. If your combined income from both jobs exceeds the wage base limit, you might have excess Social Security tax withheld. The good news is you'll get this back when you file your return. Just something to be aware of when looking at your YTD totals.

I recommend getting an account on the IRS website to track your withholding. You can see what each employer has reported for your quarterly tax payments. Super helpful when you've had multiple jobs!