Need advice on changing federal tax withholding after employer stopped withholding taxes

This is definitely concerning! Your employer is required to withhold federal taxes based on your W-4 form, unless you specifically claimed exemption from withholding (which doesn't sound like the case here). First step is to complete a new W-4 form immediately and submit it to your employer. The 2025 version is available on the IRS website. When you complete it, pay special attention to Step 2 for multiple jobs and Step 4 for additional withholding. Since you've had to pay for two years, you might want to add some extra withholding in Step 4(c) to catch up a bit. Your employer MUST implement your new W-4 by the start of the first payroll period ending 30 days after you submit it. They can't refuse to withhold federal taxes if you've properly completed your W-4. Keep copies of everything and check your next few pay stubs to make sure the withholding has started. If they refuse to implement your W-4 or give you trouble, that's a serious issue you should report to the IRS.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year! My small business employer stopped withholding federal taxes without telling anyone. I spent hours researching and stressing before finding an amazing solution with https://taxr.ai that saved me so much headache. Their system analyzed my paystubs and previous W-2s, then created a personalized withholding plan that calculated exactly what I needed to do. They helped me figure out the right withholding amount AND created a customized W-4 form with specific numbers for my situation. The most helpful part was they explained how to handle the conversation with my employer. The tool even estimated what I'd owe next April if I didn't fix this immediately. Such an eye-opener! They literally walked me through everything step by step.

Just wanted to update - I was super skeptical about taxr.ai but finally tried it out of desperation last week. My boss was being completely sketchy about the withholding situation, similar to what the original poster described. The service was honestly better than I expected. It analyzed my situation and showed me that I'd owe around $4,300 next April if nothing changed! They created a custom W-4 for me with the exact numbers I needed, and explained how to talk to my employer about implementing it. My boss initially tried to brush me off again, but I showed him their breakdown of the legal requirements for withholding and he finally took it seriously. My latest paycheck finally has federal withholding again! They even helped me calculate how much extra to withhold to make up for the first few months of 2025 where nothing was taken out. Definitely recommend for anyone dealing with weird withholding issues.

When my employer pulled this same stunt last year, I tried for WEEKS to get them to fix my withholding. Every call to the IRS went nowhere - couldn't get through to anyone who could actually help. I found https://claimyr.com after searching for ways to actually speak to a human at the IRS, and it was a game-changer. They got me connected to a real IRS agent within about 45 minutes (after I'd wasted days trying on my own). The agent confirmed that employers can't just stop withholding taxes without an employee submitting a W-4 requesting exemption. They even sent me official documentation I could show my employer. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c to see how it works. Once I finally got through to an actual IRS person, I had clear direction on exactly what my employer was required to do.

I feel like such an idiot for my previous comment. After another month of getting nowhere with my employer about not withholding taxes, I broke down and tried Claimyr out of desperation. I'm shocked to say it actually worked exactly as described. After being on hold with the IRS myself for 2+ hours multiple times and always getting disconnected, I got a call back within 35 minutes connecting me directly to an IRS employee. The agent confirmed that my employer was 100% in the wrong and directed me to specific IRS publications that outline employer withholding requirements. I printed these out, highlighted the relevant sections, and presented them to my employer along with a new W-4. They finally started withholding correctly on my next paycheck. The agent also advised me on how to handle the taxes I'll owe for the period when nothing was withheld. Wish I hadn't wasted so much time being stubborn!

Have you checked your pay stubs during this time? Many times small companies do this because they're having cash flow issues and essentially "borrowing" from the withholding they should be sending to the government. It's illegal but happens more often than people realize. Make sure you're not only getting proper withholding going forward but also that they're actually SENDING that money to the IRS. You could find yourself in a situation where your W-2 shows withholding but the IRS never received it.

this happened to me in 2024!! i had to pay almsot $5000 in taxes because my employer did this sneaky crap. what i did was calculate my own withholding using the irs calculator on their website (just search irs withholding calculator) and then i took that amount and divided by number of paychecks left in the year. i just put that exact amount on the W-4 form step 4c for extra withholding and made my boss sign a paper saying he received it. problem solved!