Started new job with ADP payroll but no federal income tax is being withheld! W4 setup error?

This definitely sounds like there's a problem with how your W4 information was entered into the ADP system. Tax credits reduce your final tax bill dollar-for-dollar, but they don't eliminate withholding completely - especially at your income level. My guess is that when you entered the $9,000 in tax credits on Step 3 of your W4, the payroll system might be treating that as a per-paycheck amount rather than an annual amount. Another possibility is that you might have inadvertently entered an amount in Step 4(b) for deductions that was calculated incorrectly. I'd recommend speaking with your HR or payroll department immediately. Ask them to review how your W4 information was entered into the system. You definitely want to get this fixed ASAP to avoid a big tax surprise next year. Federal income tax should absolutely be withheld from a $190k salary, even with dependents and tax credits.

When I went through something similar last year, I tried the IRS withholding estimator but it was super confusing. Then I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that analyzed my paystub and tax situation. It immediately spotted that my employer had entered my W4 information into ADP incorrectly. The tool showed me exactly what my withholding should be based on my salary and credits, and gave me a document explaining what needed to be fixed that I could take to HR. Saved me from having a massive tax bill! It also explained how the new W4 works differently from the old allowances system which was really helpful.

Wanted to update everyone - I took the advice about using taxr.ai and it was super helpful! The analysis showed that my employer had entered my $9,000 in tax credits as a PER PAYCHECK amount instead of an annual amount (just like someone suggested might be happening). I printed out the report it generated and took it to HR yesterday. They were actually really thankful because apparently several other new hires might have the same issue. They're fixing it for my next paycheck and setting up some additional withholding to catch up on what I've missed so far. Crisis averted!

If you need to talk to someone at the IRS to verify the correct withholding calculation, good luck with that! I spent HOURS trying to get through to a human at the IRS about a similar payroll issue. Kept getting disconnected or sitting on hold forever. Eventually I used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent was able to confirm exactly how the W4 credits should impact withholding and explain what my employer needed to do to fix it. Saved me days of frustration trying to reach someone.

I'm back to eat crow! After dismissing Claimyr as a scam, I was still struggling with my withholding issue and getting nowhere with the IRS phone line (2+ hours on hold twice). I decided to give it a shot out of desperation. Not only did it work exactly as advertised, but the IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that my employer had completely misunderstood how to enter the Step 3 credits. For anyone dealing with ADP withholding issues, the agent told me this is actually a common problem. She explained exactly what my payroll department needed to fix and even sent me an email with official documentation I could show them. The service literally saved me thousands in potential tax penalties.

Have you checked if there might be other pre-tax deductions beyond your 401k and HSA that could be lowering your taxable income? Things like transit benefits, dependent care FSAs, or health insurance premiums can sometimes add up to reduce your taxable wages significantly. Still, at $190k, you should definitely be seeing some federal withholding.

Did you check box 4(c) on your W4 for additional withholding? Sometimes if you put a negative number there (which you shouldn't), it could reduce your withholding incorrectly. ADP's system should catch this, but I've seen weird glitches happen.

This is a really common issue with ADP and the new W4 form! I had almost the exact same problem when I started my current job. The issue is likely that ADP's system is misinterpreting how your tax credits should be applied. Here's what probably happened: When you entered $9,000 in tax credits on Step 3, the system may have divided that by your number of pay periods (26 for biweekly) and is treating it as $346 per paycheck in reduced withholding. But then it's also factoring in your dependents and other deductions, which could be zeroing out your federal withholding entirely. I'd suggest doing two things immediately: 1. Contact HR/payroll and ask them to print out exactly what's entered in their system vs. what you submitted on your W4 2. Use the IRS withholding calculator to figure out what your actual withholding should be Don't wait on this - at your income level, you should be having around $1,200-1,500 withheld per paycheck for federal taxes, even with your credits and dependents. The longer you wait, the bigger catch-up withholding you'll need later in the year to avoid penalties.

I work in payroll and see this exact issue all the time with ADP! What's happening is almost certainly a data entry error on the employer's side. The $9,000 in tax credits you entered on Step 3 of your W4 should reduce your annual withholding, but it sounds like it got entered incorrectly - either as a per-paycheck amount or combined with other fields in a way that's zeroing out your withholding entirely. At $190k salary with biweekly pay, you should absolutely be seeing federal withholding of at least $1,000+ per paycheck even with your dependents and credits. Zero withholding at that income level is a red flag that something is wrong in the system. When you talk to HR, ask them to pull up your W4 data in ADP and compare it line-by-line with what you actually submitted. Also ask them to run a test calculation to show you how they're arriving at zero withholding. Most payroll people are helpful once they understand there's a problem - they don't want employees getting hit with big tax bills either! If HR can't figure it out quickly, you might want to submit a new W4 with more conservative numbers just to get some withholding started while they sort out the technical issue.

I'm dealing with a similar issue right now! Just started a new job three weeks ago and noticed my federal withholding seemed way too low compared to my previous employer. After reading through all these comments, I'm definitely going to check with HR tomorrow to make sure my W4 was entered correctly. One thing that caught my attention - several people mentioned the $9,000 in tax credits potentially being entered as a per-paycheck amount instead of annual. That would definitely explain zero withholding! At $190k, even with generous credits and deductions, you should still have substantial federal tax liability. I'd also recommend keeping detailed records of this situation (screenshots of your paystubs, copies of your W4, etc.) in case you need to document the employer error for the IRS later. Sometimes these payroll mistakes can create complications when filing your return, so having a paper trail helps. Hope you get this sorted out quickly - the sooner you fix it, the less catching up you'll need to do!

This is definitely an ADP system error - I've seen this exact scenario multiple times! The problem is almost certainly that your $9,000 in tax credits from Step 3 of your W4 got processed incorrectly in their system. At your income level ($190k), even with maximum credits and deductions, you should be seeing significant federal withholding. The fact that Social Security and Medicare are being withheld correctly but federal income tax is zero confirms this is a W4 data entry issue, not a payroll calculation problem. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. Contact HR/payroll ASAP and ask them to review how your W4 was entered into ADP 2. Request a printout of what's actually in their system vs. what you submitted 3. Ask them to show you the withholding calculation breakdown Common causes I've seen: the $9k annual credit being entered as a per-paycheck amount, credits being entered in the wrong field, or someone accidentally checking the exempt box during data entry. Don't let this drag on - with biweekly pay, you should be having roughly $1,200-1,400 in federal taxes withheld each paycheck. The sooner you fix this, the less you'll need to catch up on later in the year to avoid underpayment penalties.

ADP payroll systems have some quirks with the new W4 form that can definitely cause this issue! I've seen similar problems where the tax credits get processed incorrectly. One thing to check - when you filled out Step 3 on your W4, did you enter the $9,000 as a single lump sum, or did you break it down into different credit types? Sometimes ADP's system handles the total differently than itemized credits. Also, with your salary and bi-weekly pay schedule, you should definitely be seeing federal withholding of at least $1,000+ per paycheck even with your dependents and credits factored in. Zero withholding is a clear red flag that something got entered wrong. When you talk to HR, ask them to walk through the actual withholding calculation step-by-step. ADP should be able to show exactly how they're arriving at zero - whether it's treating your annual credits as per-paycheck amounts, or if there's some other field that got entered incorrectly. Getting this fixed now will save you from a huge tax surprise next April!

This is a really common ADP payroll issue that I've seen happen to several colleagues! The problem is almost definitely with how your W4 tax credits were entered into their system. Here's what's likely happening: ADP's system is either treating your $9,000 in annual tax credits as a per-paycheck amount, or there's been some other data entry error that's completely zeroing out your federal withholding. At your income level, you should absolutely be seeing substantial federal tax withholding even with dependents and credits. My recommendation is to contact HR immediately and ask for two things: 1. A side-by-side comparison of what you submitted on your W4 versus what's actually entered in their ADP system 2. A detailed breakdown of how they're calculating your withholding to arrive at zero Don't wait on this - at $190k annually with biweekly pay, you should be seeing roughly $1,200+ in federal withholding per paycheck. The longer this goes on, the bigger your catch-up withholding will need to be later to avoid underpayment penalties. Most HR departments are very helpful with fixing these kinds of system errors once they understand there's a problem. Keep documentation of everything (paystubs, your original W4, etc.) in case you need to show the IRS this was an employer error later on.

I'm experiencing something very similar with my ADP payroll! Started a new position two months ago and while I'm not at zero federal withholding like you, mine seems way too low for my salary range. After reading through all these responses, I'm now wondering if my Step 3 tax credits were also entered incorrectly. What really stood out to me from everyone's advice is how common this seems to be with ADP systems and the new W4 format. It sounds like the Step 3 tax credits section is particularly prone to data entry errors - either being treated as per-paycheck instead of annual amounts, or getting entered in the wrong fields entirely. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here and contact our HR department tomorrow to request a detailed comparison of what I submitted versus what's in their system. The suggestion about asking for the step-by-step withholding calculation breakdown seems particularly valuable - that way you can see exactly where the error is occurring. Thanks for posting about this issue - it's really helpful to see I'm not alone in dealing with ADP payroll problems! Hope you get it sorted out quickly. Keep us updated on how HR handles the fix!

This is a classic ADP W4 processing error that I see frequently! The fact that you're getting zero federal withholding at a $190k salary is definitely not normal, even with your dependents and tax credits. What's almost certainly happening is that ADP's system misprocessed your $9,000 in Step 3 tax credits. Either they entered it as a per-paycheck amount instead of annual (which would be $346 per paycheck), or there's been some other data entry error that's completely eliminating your federal withholding calculation. Here's what you need to do immediately: 1. Contact HR/payroll and ask for a printout showing exactly what W4 information is entered in their ADP system 2. Compare that line-by-line with your original W4 submission 3. Request they show you the detailed withholding calculation to see how they're arriving at zero At your income level with biweekly pay, you should be seeing at least $1,000-1,200 in federal withholding per paycheck even with your credits and dependents. The sooner you get this fixed, the less catch-up withholding you'll need later to avoid underpayment penalties. Keep detailed records of your paystubs and original W4 in case you need to document this was an employer error for the IRS. Most HR departments are helpful with fixing these system glitches once they understand what's wrong!

I'm seeing a lot of great advice here about ADP system errors, but I wanted to add something that might help prevent this in the future. As someone who's dealt with multiple payroll systems over the years, one thing I've learned is to always request a "test run" or preliminary calculation from HR before your first official paycheck. Most payroll departments can run a mock calculation based on your W4 information and show you approximately what your withholdings should look like. This would have caught the $9,000 annual vs. per-paycheck error immediately, before it affected multiple pay periods. Also, for anyone dealing with this situation - don't just rely on HR to fix it. Use the IRS withholding calculator yourself to verify what your correct withholding should be, then compare that to what HR says they're going to adjust it to. I've seen cases where HR "fixed" the problem but still didn't get the numbers quite right. The good news is that these ADP W4 processing errors are usually straightforward to fix once identified. Just make sure you're documenting everything and staying on top of the resolution timeline so you don't end up with underpayment penalties next year!