Got two paychecks with $0 net pay - everything going to taxes?

This is actually pretty common for servers and bartenders, and it's usually not an error. Here's what's likely happening: When you receive tips, your employer is required to report that income and withhold taxes on it. If your tips are high enough, the taxes owed on those tips plus your regular income can exceed the hourly wage portion of your paycheck, resulting in $0 net pay. For example, if you make $2.13/hour as a tipped minimum wage (just an example), but report $800 in tips for the pay period, the taxes on your total income (hourly + tips) might be more than the hourly portion alone. The system can only withhold from your hourly wage, not from your tips that you've already received. I'd suggest checking if your reported tips increased recently or if your withholding allowances changed. Talk to your manager or payroll department - they can show you the exact breakdown and help you adjust your W-4 if needed.

I had a similar issue last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which helped me figure out what was happening with my withholdings. I was getting $0 paychecks at my bartending job and couldn't understand why since nothing had changed with my reporting. Uploaded my paystubs to their system and got a breakdown showing exactly where the money was going and why my withholding suddenly increased. The tool highlighted that my employer had switched their payroll system and it was calculating my tip allocations differently. They have this feature that compares your withholding against industry standards and tax regulations to spot issues - showed me I was being over-withheld by about 12% compared to normal. Took that info to my manager and got it sorted within a week.

Just wanted to report back that I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. Uploaded my paystubs from the last 3 months and it immediately spotted the issue - our restaurant updated their POS system which changed how they were calculating tip allocation, effectively double-counting some of my credit card tips for tax purposes! The analysis showed exactly which paychecks were affected and generated a report I could take to my manager. Turns out it happened to several servers, not just me. Our payroll company had to make adjustments and I'm getting a refund on next week's check for the over-withholding. Seriously wouldn't have figured this out without the detailed breakdown they provided - payroll just kept telling me everything was "normal.

If you can't resolve this with your employer, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to get through to an actual IRS agent. I dealt with a similar situation last year where my paychecks suddenly went to $0 and my employer insisted everything was correct. After weeks of getting nowhere, I used Claimyr to get through to the IRS (you can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c). Actually spoke to someone who explained that this happens often with tipped employees, but also confirmed I was being over-withheld based on the info I provided. They walked me through filing a new W-4 with the correct adjustments and explained exactly what to tell my employer. Most valuable thing was skipping those insane hold times. I had tried calling the IRS directly before and gave up after 2+ hours on hold.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about an unrelated withholding issue for weeks. Submitted my callback request at 8:30am yesterday, went to work, and at 10:47am got connected directly to an IRS representative who specializes in employment tax issues. She explained that restaurants often change their tip allocation methods at the beginning of quarters or fiscal years, which can dramatically affect withholding. She confirmed I needed to submit a new W-4 with additional withholding specified on line 4(c) to avoid the $0 paycheck problem while ensuring I don't end up owing a huge amount at tax time. Getting actual expert advice from the IRS instead of guessing made a huge difference.

Have you checked if your employer started a tip pooling system or changed how they're reporting your declared tips? At my restaurant, they implemented a new system that automatically declared credit card tips at a higher percentage, which suddenly caused my checks to go to nearly zero. Also worth checking if your hourly rate changed. Some places will lower the hourly when they implement certain tip systems, which means less base pay to withhold taxes from.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned checking for wage garnishments. If you have unpaid debts, child support, student loans, or tax liens, your wages can be garnished, sometimes taking most or all of your paycheck. The garnishment would show up on your paystub though. Worth checking all line items carefully.

Check your paystub line by line and compare it to previous ones from before this started happening. Look specifically for any new deductions that weren't there before, and verify that your filing status and number of allowances on your W-4 are still correct. Since you mentioned this started suddenly after 8 months of normal paychecks, something definitely changed in the system. It could be the new POS system others mentioned, a payroll software update, or even an error in how your tax withholding is being calculated. I'd recommend taking your recent paystubs plus a few older ones to your manager or whoever handles payroll and ask them to walk through exactly what changed. Don't let them brush you off with "that's just how taxes work" - you deserve a clear explanation since this is a sudden change from your normal pay pattern. Also consider reaching out to your state's Department of Labor if your employer can't give you a satisfactory explanation. They can help determine if wages are being withheld properly according to state and federal law.

This is definitely frustrating! Based on what you've described and the timing with your POS system update, I'd strongly recommend getting a detailed breakdown from payroll ASAP. Here's what I'd do in your situation: 1. **Compare paystubs line by line** - Look at your last normal paycheck versus these $0 ones. Check if federal withholding, state withholding, FICA, or any other deductions changed dramatically. 2. **Ask specifically about the POS system change** - Since this started around the time they updated systems, ask your manager exactly how tip reporting changed. The new system might be auto-declaring 100% of credit card tips instead of letting you declare a portion. 3. **Verify your W-4 info** - Sometimes system updates reset withholding preferences. Make sure your filing status and allowances are still correct in their system. 4. **Document everything** - Take photos of all paystubs and keep records of conversations with management. If your employer can't give you a clear explanation, consider contacting your state's Department of Labor. You shouldn't have to guess why your pay suddenly disappeared, especially when nothing changed on your end. This sounds like either a system configuration error or incorrect tax calculation that needs to be fixed immediately.