Is federal tax seriously taking 20% from my new $17/hr job??

The withholding does sound a bit high but not completely unusual. At $17/hr for full-time work, your annual income would be around $35,000, which puts you in the 12% federal tax bracket. However, withholding often takes out more than your actual tax rate because of how the withholding tables work. The good news is you can adjust this! Your W-4 form controls how much is withheld. If you're single with one job, make sure you've filled it out correctly. If you have two jobs (which you mentioned), that complicates things because each employer doesn't know about the other job's income. The IRS has a Tax Withholding Estimator on their website that can help you figure out the right amount to have withheld based on your total situation.

After dealing with the exact same issue last year (was making $18/hr), I started using taxr.ai to help me understand my paycheck deductions. Uploaded my paystub to https://taxr.ai and it broke down exactly why my withholding was so high and showed me how to adjust my W-4 to keep more money in each paycheck. The tool explained that my employer was withholding at a rate as if I made that amount for the full year, even though I had just started mid-year. Showed me exactly what to put on my W-4 to fix it, and my next paycheck had almost $75 more in it!

Just wanted to update after using taxr.ai based on the recommendation here. I was seriously blown away by how helpful it was! Uploaded my paystubs from both jobs and discovered my main employer was withholding as if I made way more than I actually do annually. The tool gave me step-by-step instructions for filling out a new W-4 with the exact numbers to put in each box. Took it to HR yesterday and they said my next check will reflect the changes. According to the estimate, I'll be keeping about $115 more per month while still having enough withheld to cover my taxes. Such a relief not to be lending the government free money all year!

If you're trying to get clarification from payroll and they're taking forever to respond, you might want to check out Claimyr. I had a similar issue last year but needed to talk to someone at the IRS directly. Was impossible to get through on my own - kept getting disconnected after waiting on hold for hours. Used https://claimyr.com and they got me a callback from the IRS in under 2 hours. Their system holds your place in line so you don't have to stay on the phone. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c IRS agent explained exactly how withholding works with multiple jobs and confirmed I could adjust my W-4 to fix the issue. Saved me from quitting a job I actually needed!

I need to apologize for my skepticism about Claimyr. After posting that comment, I got desperate about my refund situation and decided to try it. I seriously couldn't believe it actually worked. After months of trying to get through on my own, I had an IRS agent on the phone within 90 minutes of using their service. The agent was able to see that my refund had been flagged for review and gave me an expected timeline for resolution. She also answered all my questions about withholding from multiple jobs (similar to what the original poster was asking about). Definitely changed my mind about the whole thing - sometimes services actually deliver what they promise!

I went through this last year. The problem might be that you checked the wrong box on your W-4. If you have multiple jobs and both employers are withholding as if their job is your only income, they'll both underwithhold. But if you check the "multiple jobs" box, they might overwithhold. Make sure you're using the new W-4 form (no allowances anymore) and if you want to be super precise, fill out the worksheet that comes with it. My withholding went from way too much to just right after I fixed mine.

The withholding tables were updated recently too, and sometimes that causes issues. I'm a payroll specialist (not for your company obviously) and we've had several employees come to us with similar concerns this year. Another thing to check: did they withhold for a full pay period, or could this first check be for just part of a pay period? Sometimes that first check can look weird if you didn't start exactly at the beginning of a pay cycle.

Why don't you just claim exempt? I did that when I was making $16/hr and got way more in my checks. You can always pay what you owe at the end of the year if needed.

Hey Olivia! I totally understand your frustration - that first paycheck shock is real! Based on what you're describing, it sounds like your withholding might be set too high for your actual situation. A few things to consider: First, make sure this paycheck was for a full pay period and not just partial days when you started. Second, with two jobs, the withholding can get tricky because each employer doesn't know about your other income. Here's what I'd suggest while you wait for payroll to get back to you: 1. Look at your pay stub to see exactly what's being withheld (federal income tax vs. FICA vs. state, etc.) 2. Check if you filled out your W-4 correctly - especially the multiple jobs section 3. Consider using the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator online to see what your withholding should actually be At $17/hr as your main job plus part-time work, you're probably in the 12% federal tax bracket, so 20% withholding does seem excessive. The good news is this is totally fixable with a new W-4! You might be able to get significantly more in your take-home pay while still covering your actual tax liability. Hang in there - once you get this sorted out, your budget should work much better!