Why aren't federal taxes being deducted from my paycheck? Could this cause problems when filing taxes?

This is definitely something you need to address soon! Your employer should be withholding federal income tax based on your W-4. The fact that they're withholding state taxes and FICA (Social Security/Medicare) but not federal income tax is unusual and could indicate an error in their payroll system. First, double-check your most recent pay stub to verify what's being withheld. Then speak with your employer's HR or payroll department immediately. Ask them to review your W-4 and confirm it was processed correctly. You may need to submit a new W-4 form. If this isn't fixed, you could indeed end up with a significant tax bill when filing your 2025 taxes. Based on your monthly income of $3,200 (approximately $38,400 annually), you could potentially owe thousands in federal taxes that should have been gradually withheld throughout the year.

Something similar happened to me last year with a new job! After weeks of stress trying to reach someone at the IRS, I found this service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that seriously saved me. I uploaded my paystubs and W-4 info, and they analyzed everything to show exactly what was wrong and what to do about it. The tool explained that my employer had incorrectly processed my W-4, which is probably what's happening in your case too. It gave me a detailed breakdown of what my withholdings should have been and generated a letter I could give to HR explaining the exact issue. Super helpful when you're trying to explain tax stuff to your employer!

Just wanted to update - I finally tried taxr.ai after my frustrating payroll situation. Uploaded my last paystub and W-4, and within minutes it showed me that my employer had classified me incorrectly in their system! The report showed exactly how much federal tax SHOULD have been withheld each pay period ($247) vs the $0 that was actually taken out. I printed the analysis and brought it to HR yesterday. They looked it over and found the error right away - turns out they had somehow marked me as "exempt" in their system even though my W-4 didn't say that at all! They're fixing it for my next paycheck and helping me figure out how to handle the back taxes. Such a relief to have this sorted before tax season!

This exact thing happened to a friend of mine! After weeks of trying to get through to the IRS for guidance (literally 9+ attempts), she used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) to actually get through to a real IRS agent. There's a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent confirmed that this happens sometimes when W-4 forms aren't processed correctly, and gave her specific instructions on what to do. The IRS told her exactly what form to have her employer correct and how to handle the taxes that weren't withheld. Saved her from a potentially huge tax bill and penalties. It's crazy how hard it is to actually talk to someone at the IRS, but this service got her through in under 20 minutes when she'd been trying for days on her own.

Wow, I need to eat my words here. After posting my skeptical comment yesterday, I was still desperate for answers about my own tax situation, so I tried Claimyr as a last resort. I ACTUALLY got through to an IRS representative in about 35 minutes. The agent told me that when no federal tax is being withheld, it's usually because either: 1) The W-4 was processed with errors, 2) Your income falls below the threshold where withholding is required, or 3) You have multiple jobs and indicated that on your W-4. In my case, like the original poster, it was an error. The IRS person walked me through exactly what to tell my payroll department and explained how I could make an estimated tax payment for the amount that should have been withheld so far. Totally worth it just to get clear answers directly from the IRS instead of guessing.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - you should check if you might actually be classified as an independent contractor (1099) rather than an employee (W-2). Some restaurants do this, especially for certain positions. If you're a 1099 worker, the employer doesn't withhold ANY taxes - you're responsible for paying quarterly estimated taxes yourself. Look at your hiring paperwork. Did you fill out a W-9 instead of a W-4? If so, you're considered self-employed and this would explain why no federal taxes are being withheld.

I'm an HR assistant at a restaurant chain, and this happens sometimes! The most common causes I see are: 1. Someone entered the W-4 information incorrectly into the payroll system 2. The employee inadvertently checked the "exempt" box on their W-4 3. The employee claimed a very high number of dependents or deductions 4. The new employee is making under the threshold where federal withholding kicks in With your income at $3,200/month, #4 definitely isn't your issue. Ask HR to pull your original W-4 form and check what's in their system against what you actually filled out.

I went through something very similar last year! The key thing is to act fast - the longer you wait, the bigger the potential tax bill becomes. Here's what I'd recommend doing immediately: 1. **Request a copy of your original W-4** from HR/payroll and compare it to what they have in their system 2. **Calculate roughly what you should owe** - at $38,400 annually, you're probably looking at around $2,000-3,000 in federal taxes for the full year 3. **Consider making an estimated tax payment** to the IRS for the months where nothing was withheld to avoid underpayment penalties When I had this issue, it turned out my employer had accidentally marked me as "exempt" in their payroll software even though I never claimed that on my W-4. Once they fixed it, I had them increase my withholding slightly for the rest of the year to help catch up. The good news is this is fixable! Just don't let it slide any longer. Also keep all documentation of when you reported the issue to your employer in case you need to show the IRS that you tried to correct it promptly.