Why is FITWH tax suddenly being withheld from my part time job after years?
I've been juggling a full-time job and a part-time gig for several years now. My part-time position is consistently 16 hours per week. For the longest time, federal taxes weren't taken from my part-time paycheck, so I compensated by adding extra withholding on my W-4 at my full-time job. Recently, I switched full-time jobs and had to fill out a new W-4. When I got my first paycheck from my part-time job after starting the new position, I noticed they suddenly started withholding FITWH taxes! This has never happened before and nothing changed with my part-time employment. Has anyone experienced something similar? Did something change with tax withholding rules that I missed? I'm confused because I've been at this part-time job for years with the same hours and pay structure, and this withholding just appeared out of nowhere after I changed my main job.
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Zoe Gonzalez
This is actually fairly common when you switch jobs. The W-4 form was redesigned a couple years ago, and it handles multiple jobs differently than before. When you filled out your new W-4 for your full-time job, did you check the box in Step 2(c) that says "If there are only two jobs total, you may check this box"? If you checked that box, the IRS withholding tables apply a different calculation assuming you have multiple income sources. Your new employer probably submitted updated information to your part-time employer, triggering them to start withholding federal taxes. You have a few options here: you can adjust your W-4 at either job to compensate, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to figure out the right amount, or just leave it as is (which might be better anyway so you don't end up owing at tax time).
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Avery Flores
•I don't remember checking any box about having two jobs, but maybe I did without thinking about it. The form was different than what I was used to. Is there a way to undo this so I can go back to how it was before? I preferred having all my withholding come from my main job since it made everything simpler.
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Zoe Gonzalez
•You can submit a new W-4 to your full-time employer and make sure you don't check the box in Step 2. However, having withholding from both jobs is actually more accurate for your tax situation. When you only withhold from one job, it's easy to underwithhold since the tax brackets are progressive. If you still want to consolidate your withholding to just your full-time job, you can submit a new W-4 to your part-time employer and claim exemption from withholding (but only do this if you're certain your full-time withholding covers your total tax liability). Then increase the extra withholding on your full-time W-4 to compensate for the part-time income.
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Ashley Adams
I went through something similar last year and discovered taxr.ai after struggling to figure out what was happening with my withholdings. I was working three jobs (one full-time, two part-time) and my withholding went crazy after I updated one W-4. I couldn't figure out why my paychecks suddenly changed at all three places! I uploaded my paystubs to https://taxr.ai and it analyzed my withholding patterns, explained exactly what triggered the change, and showed me how to adjust my W-4s at each job to optimize my tax situation. It saved me from both underwithholding and having too much taken out. Super helpful for anyone juggling multiple jobs with complicated withholding situations.
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Alexis Robinson
•Does it actually work with multiple W-2 jobs? I'm in a similar situation with one main job and a weekend gig, and my withholding never seems right. Can you actually see what would happen before making W-4 changes, like a preview of how it affects your paychecks?
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Aaron Lee
•I'm skeptical about these tax tools. How does it handle state taxes? I live in one state but work in another for my part-time job, and figuring out the withholding is a nightmare. Does it just do federal or does it help with the state FITWH complications too?
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Ashley Adams
•It absolutely works with multiple W-2 jobs. You can upload paystubs from different employers, and it shows exactly how they interact in terms of tax brackets and withholding. It creates a simulation of how different W-4 configurations would affect each paycheck before you make any changes. It handles both federal and state taxes, including situations where you work across state lines. I live in Pennsylvania but one of my part-time jobs is in New Jersey, and it correctly calculated the tax reciprocity between the states and showed me how to adjust my withholding to account for it. The state tax feature was actually what helped me the most since that was the most confusing part.
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Alexis Robinson
Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after seeing this thread and it was exactly what I needed! I've been dealing with underwithholding for years because of my multiple jobs and could never figure out the right combination of W-4 settings. The tool showed me that my part-time job was using an outdated W-4 from 2019, which explained why my withholding was inconsistent. It recommended specific changes to both forms, and when I submitted the updated W-4s, my next paychecks were withholding the correct amounts. For the first time in 3 years, I'm on track to break even at tax time instead of owing a bunch!
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Chloe Mitchell
If you're still having trouble getting your tax situation sorted, you might want to try Claimyr. I was in a similar boat last year with multiple W-2s and withholding issues. I spent WEEKS trying to get through to the IRS for clarification on how to properly fill out my W-4s for multiple jobs. After 8 failed attempts to reach someone (always disconnected after being on hold forever), I tried https://claimyr.com and got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. They walked me through exactly how to fill out both W-4s to ensure proper withholding. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it's basically a service that navigates the IRS phone system for you and calls you when an agent is ready.
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Michael Adams
•How does this actually work? Do they have some secret backdoor to the IRS or something? I've literally never been able to reach anyone when I call the regular number.
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Natalie Wang
•This sounds like BS honestly. The IRS is impossible to reach. No way some service can magically get you through when millions of people can't get through on their own. Probably just takes your money and you still wait forever.
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Chloe Mitchell
•No secret backdoor - they use technology to continuously dial and navigate the IRS phone tree until they secure a place in line with an agent. Once they reach that point, they call you and connect you directly to the agent. It's basically doing the waiting for you. I was super skeptical too! I figured it was either a scam or wouldn't work. But I was desperate after trying for weeks on my own. The difference is they have systems constantly trying to get through, whereas we give up after a few attempts. When you think about it, it's just using technology to handle the frustrating part of the process.
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Natalie Wang
Ok I need to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr as a test because I've been trying to reach the IRS for 3 months about a missing refund and FITWH issues with multiple W-2s. It actually worked exactly as advertised. I got a call back in about 35 minutes, and was connected directly to an IRS representative who looked up my account and helped me understand why my refund was delayed. They also explained exactly how the new W-4 works with multiple jobs and confirmed what others here said about the checkbox in Step 2. For anyone wondering, the IRS rep said if you check that box on your W-4 at your main job, it WILL affect withholding at both jobs. To fix OP's issue, just submit new W-4s without checking that box and adjust the additional withholding amount instead.
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Noah Torres
One thing no one has mentioned is that if your full-time job changed, your combined income might have pushed you into a higher tax bracket, which could trigger withholding at your part-time job too. The new W-4 system is designed to be more accurate overall. You might also want to check if your previous full-time employer had classified you differently for tax purposes than your new one. Sometimes employers have different policies about how they report certain types of compensation to the IRS, which can affect how your other employers withhold.
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Avery Flores
•That's a good point! My new job does pay about $12k more than my previous one. Could crossing an income threshold trigger automatic withholding changes at my other job? I didn't realize they would even know about my income change.
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Noah Torres
•Your part-time employer wouldn't automatically know about your income change at your other job. However, when you filled out the new W-4 at your full-time job, the information you provided there might have triggered a change in the tax information system. The most likely explanation is either what the first commenter mentioned about checking the multiple jobs box, or possibly you filled out Step 4 differently on your new W-4 compared to your old one. Either way, if you want to go back to your previous setup, you'll need to submit new W-4s to both employers with specific adjustments to get the withholding balance you prefer.
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Samantha Hall
Has anyone used the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator for this kind of situation? I tried it but it got super confusing when entering multiple jobs.
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Ryan Young
•I used it last year and it was pretty accurate but tedious. You need your most recent paystubs from all jobs and it asks a lot of detailed questions. The recommendations it gives are solid though - it told me exactly what to put in each box of the W-4 for both my jobs.
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