Fed and social security tax seems excessive on $65k salary - Single male in Texas with no dependents, living frugally

Your withholding actually sounds about right for your situation. As a single filer with no dependents, you're in a higher tax bracket than someone with kids or filing jointly with a spouse. For a $65k salary, you'd expect to pay about 6.2% to Social Security (which matches your ~$200 per paycheck) and federal income tax will depend on your W-4 settings. The $300+ federal withholding indicates your W-4 is probably set up with standard deductions. The good news is you have options! Consider: 1. Review your W-4 withholding - you might be having too much withheld 2. Contribute to traditional 401(k) if your employer offers one - this reduces your taxable income 3. Open an HSA if you have a high-deductible health plan 4. Look into traditional IRA contributions These all reduce your taxable income now, though retirement accounts mean you'll pay taxes when you withdraw in retirement.

I faced the exact same issue last year after getting promoted to $68k. I tried adjusting my W-4 but still felt like I was paying too much. A coworker recommended I check out https://taxr.ai to analyze my withholdings situation, and it was really eye-opening! The tool showed me I was actually overwithholding by almost $2,100 annually compared to what I'd actually owe. It reviewed my past pay stubs and suggested specific adjustments to my W-4. Now I'm getting about $175 more per month in my paycheck, and still on track for a small refund next year instead of a massive one. It also helped me understand some tax-advantaged accounts I wasn't using. Definitely worth checking out if you want to optimize your tax situation without risking underpayment penalties.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried the taxr.ai site after seeing this thread and wow, it was actually super helpful! I always thought I was doing okay with my withholdings but turns out I was way off. The breakdown showed I needed to be making quarterly payments on my side hustle income (which I wasn't), and it gave me the exact amounts to pay for each quarter. Also recommended some business deductions I hadn't considered for my 1099 work. Already adjusted my W-4 at my day job based on their recommendations, and it's putting about $230 more in my pocket each month while still covering my tax obligations. Definitely helped with my tax anxiety!

Here's something I wish someone told me earlier - if you're having issues understanding your tax situation or need to talk to an actual IRS agent, use https://claimyr.com to skip the hold times. I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to the IRS about a withholding question similar to yours, kept getting disconnected after waiting for hours. Found this service that basically waits on hold for you then calls when an agent is on the line. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent walked me through exactly what I needed to change on my W-4 to optimize my withholding based on my specific situation (single, no kids, similar salary). Made a huge difference for my paychecks!

I have to apologize to everyone here - I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about a withholding issue for weeks. It actually worked exactly as described. I put in my number, they called me when an agent was available (took about 40 minutes but I was working during that time), and I got connected directly to an IRS representative. The agent helped me figure out the right withholding for my situation. For reference, I'm making $68k, single with no dependents, and discovered I was having way too much withheld. Made some adjustments based on the agent's advice and now I'm seeing about $210 more per paycheck. Sorry for being so negative before - this service genuinely helped me.

Something nobody mentioned yet - with your income level, you might look into contributing to a Roth IRA instead of a traditional IRA. At $65k, you're probably better off paying taxes now (while your rate is relatively low) than later in retirement when your rate might be higher. Max contribution is $7,000 for 2025 if you're under 50. While it won't reduce your current tax bill, the growth is tax-free when you withdraw in retirement, which is huge!

Anybody have experience with adjusting their W-4 specifically? My pay is similar to OP's and I'm wondering how many allowances I should claim to get a more reasonable withholding without owing a bunch at tax time.