How should someone adjust their W-4 for side gig income of $5096 while making $13/hr at main job?

3 That's really helpful! But what if he doesn't want his main employer to know he has a second job? Is there another way to handle this?

8 He could definitely maintain his privacy by using Step 4(c) instead of 4(a). This way, he'd just enter an additional withholding amount per paycheck without specifying why. To calculate how much extra to withhold, he could multiply the side income by his marginal tax rate (probably 12% or 22% depending on his total income) and divide by the number of paychecks he receives annually. For example, if it's $6,800 and he's in the 12% bracket with 26 paychecks per year, he'd add about $31 extra withholding per paycheck ($6,800 × 0.12 ÷ 26). He might want to add a bit more to cover Social Security and Medicare taxes too.

5 Wait does this actually work for calculating the extra withholding? I'm working a side job teaching guitar lessons and getting paid in cash. No idea how to handle the taxes and I'm stressed about owing a bunch next year.

17 I'm skeptical. How is this any different than the IRS's own tax withholding calculator? Why would I need a separate service?

12 It absolutely works for calculating extra withholding. You input your main income, your side hustle earnings, and it tells you exactly what to put on line 4(c) of your W-4. It's way more detailed than just guessing at percentages, and adjusts if you're getting close to a tax bracket change. The IRS calculator is decent, but this gives you more specific guidance for gig work and self-employment taxes. It also lets you see different scenarios (like quarterly payments vs extra withholding) and which is better for your specific situation. Plus it's much faster and more user-friendly than trying to navigate the IRS tools.

6 How does this even work? I thought it was impossible to get the IRS on the phone. Are you just paying for someone to wait on hold for you?

17 Sorry but this sounds like you're just paying for something the IRS provides for free. Why would anyone need this? I've gotten through to the IRS plenty of times by just calling early in the morning.

10 It works by using a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When they reach an agent, you get a call back and are connected. So yes, they handle the waiting part, but that's huge when hold times are 2+ hours! Getting through to the IRS isn't impossible, just incredibly time-consuming. I tried calling early mornings, different days, everything - still had 90+ minute waits or got the "call volume too high" message. Maybe you've had better luck, but during tax season especially, most people struggle to get through. The time saved was absolutely worth it for me since I run my own business and literally can't sit on hold for hours during work days.

19 Isn't there a penalty if you don't pay enough throughout the year though? How do you figure out the right amount for quarterly payments?

4 There can be a penalty if you significantly underpay throughout the year, but you can avoid this by making sure your total payments (withholding plus quarterly payments) equal at least 90% of your current year tax or 100% of your prior year tax (110% if your income is over $150,000). For figuring out the right quarterly payment amount, you'd take your expected additional tax from the side gig (including both income tax and self-employment tax which is about 15.3%) and divide by 4. For someone making $6,800 extra, the self-employment tax alone would be about $960 for the year, plus whatever income tax applies based on their tax bracket.

1 We do have tax forms and publications available, and I did offer those resources! But as anyone who's looked at IRS instructions knows, they can be pretty complicated to understand if you're not familiar with tax terminology. The patron seemed overwhelmed and was looking for someone to actually walk him through his specific situation, which is beyond our role as librarians. That's why I referred him to his employer's payroll department or his tax preparer. I was just personally curious about how this situation should be handled, especially with the newer W-4 format. The responses here have been really helpful!