My Second Job is Overwithholding Social Security Tax After Reaching $160,200 Cap
Title: My Second Job is Overwithholding Social Security Tax After Reaching $160,200 Cap 1 Hey everyone, I started working a second job back in June this year. I've noticed something frustrating - between both jobs, I've already hit the $160,200 Social Security tax cap, but my second employer keeps withholding SS taxes from my paychecks anyway. I brought this up with their payroll department, and they basically told me "just claim it back when you file your 2023 taxes." I'd really prefer not to wait until tax season to get MY money back. It's a significant amount coming out every paycheck. Is there anything I can do to stop this overwithholding now? Can I formally request that they stop taking SS tax since I've hit the cap? Has anyone dealt with this situation before? Really appreciate any advice!
18 comments
Join the conversation
Fatima Al-Qasimi
8 This is actually pretty common with multiple employers. Each employer is required to withhold Social Security tax up to the wage base limit ($160,200 for 2023) without considering what other employers have withheld. They have no way to verify your total earnings across multiple jobs. You have two options here: First, you can provide your second employer with proof that you've already met the SS wage base limit through both employers combined. This would typically include pay stubs from both employers showing year-to-date SS tax withholding. Some payroll departments will accommodate this request and stop withholding, but they're not legally required to do so. Second option (which your payroll department suggested) is to claim the excess Social Security tax as a credit when you file your tax return. This is done on your Form 1040, and you'll get the overwitheld amount back as part of your refund.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•12 Thanks for explaining. Would I need to fill out a specific form to request my second employer to stop withholding? And if they refuse, is there any way to adjust my W-4 to compensate for the overwithholding in some other way?
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•8 There's no specific IRS form for requesting employers to stop SS withholding after reaching the cap. You'd need to submit a written request to your payroll department along with documentation proving you've reached the wage base limit. Regarding your W-4 question, unfortunately adjusting your W-4 won't help with Social Security overwithholding specifically. The W-4 only affects federal income tax withholding, not FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare). Some people do adjust their W-4 to have less federal tax withheld to compensate for the extra SS being taken, but that's just shifting which tax is being withheld, not solving the underlying issue.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
17 I had this EXACT same problem last year. After trying to deal with HR for weeks, I finally found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which helped me document everything properly. Their system analyzed my pay stubs from both jobs, generated the exact documentation my second employer needed, and explained exactly what to say to payroll. The key is having the right documentation that clearly shows you've hit the SS tax limit. My second employer initially refused too, but once I had the proper documentation that taxr.ai helped me put together, they finally stopped the withholding. Saved me from waiting for my tax refund to get that money back!
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•3 How does the documentation work exactly? My payroll dept seems clueless about the whole SS cap situation and I'm not sure they'd even know what to do with documentation if I provided it.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•21 I'm skeptical... can't you just show them your paystubs from both jobs? Why would you need a special service for this? Seems like something you could handle yourself with a spreadsheet and some basic math.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•17 The documentation is basically a formatted report that clearly shows your YTD earnings from all employers, the SS tax already withheld, and calculates the exact point where you hit the cap. It's presented in a way that payroll departments immediately recognize as legitimate (unlike just handing them random paystubs). As for doing it yourself, I thought the same thing at first! But after my DIY attempt failed, I realized the issue wasn't the math - it was getting payroll to actually take action. Most payroll departments are extremely cautious about changing tax withholding because they can be penalized if they do it incorrectly. The professional documentation gives them confidence that they're not making a mistake by stopping the withholding.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
21 Just wanted to update that I tried taxr.ai after my skeptical comment, and wow - it actually worked! Their system really did make the difference. Created a super professional document that showed exactly when I hit the SS cap and calculated the projected overwithholding if it continued. My payroll department reviewed it and approved stopping the SS withholding starting next pay period. They actually thanked me for providing such clear documentation instead of just complaining like "most people do" (their words lol). Definitely worth it to get that money in my paycheck now instead of waiting for a tax refund next year.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
15 After dealing with a similar situation and getting absolutely nowhere with HR, I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which actually got me through to a real person at the IRS who explained the proper procedure. They have this demo video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I spent HOURS on hold trying to reach the IRS myself with no luck, but Claimyr got me connected within 20 minutes. The IRS agent confirmed that while employers aren't required to stop withholding, they explained exactly what documentation would make my case stronger with payroll. They also gave me the exact reference to the tax code that I could cite in my request to payroll.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•5 Wait, how does this service actually work? Do they just call the IRS for you? I'm confused about how that helps with getting through faster.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•21 Yeah right, nobody gets through to the IRS these days. I've tried calling them about a different issue and was on hold for 2+ hours before giving up. I seriously doubt any service can magically get you to the front of the line.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•15 They don't actually call the IRS for you - they hold your place in line. Their system navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold, then calls you when an actual IRS agent picks up. You take over the call at that point. It works because they have technology that can stay on hold indefinitely while you go about your day. When I tried calling myself, I couldn't stay on hold for hours during work hours. With Claimyr, I just went about my day and got a call when an agent was actually on the line. The IRS agent I spoke with gave me specific guidance about employer SS overwithholding that my HR department couldn't argue with.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
21 I was completely wrong about Claimyr in my skeptical comment earlier. Tried it this morning expecting it to be a waste of time, but I had an IRS agent on the phone within 35 minutes! The agent walked me through the exact process for dealing with SS overwithholding from multiple employers. She explained that while employers aren't legally required to stop withholding, most will if you provide proper documentation. She even emailed me an information sheet about the SS wage cap that I could show my payroll department. Just submitted the request to payroll with all the IRS info and they've agreed to stop the SS withholding starting next month. Huge relief!
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
9 Have you considered just adjusting your federal withholding on your W-4 to compensate? While it doesn't solve the SS overwithholding directly, you could claim additional allowances to reduce your federal income tax withholding by approximately the same amount as the excess SS tax. That way your take-home pay stays about the same, and everything gets sorted out when you file.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•1 I thought about that, but wouldn't that potentially cause me to be underwithholding federal taxes? I'm worried about ending up with a big tax bill or underpayment penalties when filing time comes around.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•9 It could potentially result in underwithholding if not calculated carefully. The key is to only reduce your federal withholding by the amount of the excess SS tax, not more. You'd need to calculate how much extra SS tax is being withheld per pay period and adjust accordingly. You generally won't face underpayment penalties if you've paid at least 90% of your current year tax liability or 100% of your prior year tax liability through withholding (110% if your AGI was over $150,000). Since you're only adjusting to offset the SS overwithholding, you should still meet these safe harbor provisions if your withholding was otherwise appropriate.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
16 Just curious - has anyone successfully gotten their employer to issue a corrected W-2 for this situation instead of waiting to claim it on taxes? My payroll person suggested this might be possible but wasn't sure of the process.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
•8 Employers generally won't issue a corrected W-2 for SS overwithholding in multiple-employer situations. The W-2 from each employer should correctly reflect what they actually withheld, even if the combined amount exceeds the maximum. The IRS expects you to reconcile this on your tax return rather than having employers issue corrected W-2s. This is specifically addressed in the instructions for Form 1040, where you claim the excess Social Security tax withholding as a credit.
0 coins