My Federal Income Tax Withheld on W2 is extremely low ($22) - is this incorrect?

So I just got my W2 from this company I've been working at for about 3 months last year (still working there now), and I noticed something really weird. My Federal Income Tax withheld is only $22.61 for the ENTIRE time! This seems ridiculously low considering what I made. I immediately messaged my boss about it but haven't heard back yet. Like, there's no way this is right, is there? I'm kinda worried because I don't want to get hit with a huge tax bill when I file. I'm wondering if this was some kind of mistake in payroll or if they're doing something sketchy with withholding. Has anyone else experienced something like this? What should I do if my boss doesn't respond or says it's correct? I'm pretty sure federal income tax should be way more than $22 for three months of work...

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18 comments

Esteban Tate

•8M

This could be happening for a few legitimate reasons or it might be an error. First, check how you filled out your W-4 form when you started. If you claimed a lot of allowances or wrote "Exempt" on your W-4, that would explain the low federal withholding. Also look at your pay stubs - they should show your gross pay, deductions, and what tax was withheld each pay period. Calculate what percentage of your income went to federal taxes and compare it to typical withholding rates. What was your total income from this job for those three months? The amount of federal tax withheld depends on how much you earned, your filing status, and how you completed your W-4. If you only worked part-time or had low income, $22.61 might actually be correct.

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Esteban Tate

•8M

If you only made about $3,800 over three months, then the withholding might actually be correct, especially if you're single with no dependents and this is your only job. At that income level, after the standard deduction, your tax liability would be quite low. You can request a copy of your W-4 from your employer's HR or payroll department. It's worth checking what you originally filled out. Also, you can submit a new W-4 at any time if you want to increase your withholding going forward. Just tell them you'd like more federal tax withheld from each paycheck.

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Elin Robinson

•8M

I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which was super helpful for figuring out if my withholding was correct. I uploaded my paystubs and W-2, and their system analyzed whether my withholding matched what it should be based on my filing status and income level. In my case, I found out my employer had accidentally classified me wrong in their system, which was causing the low federal withholding. The tool spotted the discrepancy right away and even generated a letter I could send to HR explaining the specific issue.

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Elin Robinson

•8M

It's surprisingly accurate - it compares your actual withholding against what should be withheld based on your income, filing status, and pay frequency. It doesn't just flag issues but explains exactly what's wrong and why. In my case, it pointed out that my employer was withholding at the wrong tax bracket rate. The advantage over the IRS estimator is that it actually analyzes your real documents instead of just using numbers you input. And yes, talking to payroll is good, but in my experience, it helps to approach them with specific information about what's wrong rather than just saying "I think something's off.

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Beth Ford

•8M

I was initially skeptical about using taxr.ai but decided to give it a try after continuing to get nowhere with our payroll department. Uploaded my W-2 and recent paystubs, and within minutes it identified that my employer was applying the wrong tax table to my withholdings. The analysis showed exactly what percentage should have been withheld based on my filing status and income. What really helped was the explanation document it generated - I forwarded it to payroll and they immediately understood the issue. They fixed it going forward AND issued me a corrected W-2. Saved me from a potential audit flag since the numbers were so obviously wrong. Definitely worth checking out if your boss doesn't give you a satisfactory answer.

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Morita Montoya

•8M

If you're having trouble getting your employer to respond about your W-2 issue, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I had a similar problem last year and couldn't get a straight answer from my company. After weeks of frustration, I used Claimyr to actually get through to a real IRS agent. They have this system that basically waits on hold with the IRS for you, then calls you when an agent picks up. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with explained exactly what my rights were regarding incorrect W-2s and gave me steps to address it with my employer. They even told me how to file if my employer never corrected the W-2. Was honestly surprised how helpful it was to speak with an actual human at the IRS instead of just reading confusing info online.

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Morita Montoya

•8M

Yes, it's completely legitimate. They use a system that basically waits on hold with the IRS for you. When an IRS agent finally picks up, their system calls your phone and connects you directly to the agent. It saved me literally hours of hold time. I had the same thought initially - why pay for something I could do myself? But after my third attempt waiting over an hour and getting disconnected, I realized my time was worth more than that. It's not about doing something you can't do yourself, it's about not wasting half your day listening to hold music.

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Joy Olmedo

•8M

I need to apologize for my skeptical comment earlier. After another frustrating attempt trying to reach the IRS myself (got disconnected after 45 minutes on hold), I decided to try Claimyr out of desperation. Honestly can't believe how well it worked. I submitted my request in the morning, and about 3 hours later got a call connecting me directly to an IRS agent. No hold time on my end at all. The agent helped me understand exactly what to do about my employer's withholding mistakes and the steps to take if they refuse to issue a corrected W-2. Having a direct conversation with someone who actually knew the tax code made such a difference compared to guessing from online articles.

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Isaiah Cross

•8M

Have you checked if you might be classified as an independent contractor instead of an employee? If they incorrectly classified you, they wouldn't withhold taxes properly. Look at your paystub and see if they're taking out Social Security and Medicare taxes. If those aren't being withheld either, that's a big red flag that you might be misclassified. Also, if you're working multiple jobs, your W-4 at this job might not account for your total income, which would affect withholding calculations.

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Isaiah Cross

•8M

If Social Security and Medicare taxes are being withheld, then you're correctly classified as an employee, which is good news. In that case, it really does sound like it's just how your W-4 was filled out. Since you're working part-time with relatively low income ($3,800 over 3 months), the standard deduction might be covering most of your taxable income. For 2025, the standard deduction is pretty high, so if your annual income projects to around $15,000, your actual tax liability would be very low.

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