Using the Federal Withholding Tax Table

Using the Federal Withholding Tax Table

The federal withholding tax table is used to determine the amount of taxes that an individual must pay according to his or her living status, amount of money he or she makes, and his or her age. These charts help employers to determine what needs to be taken out of the person’s paycheck each month or bi-weekly depending on what the person claims on their W-2. This helps to ensure that the individual will have paid enough taxes to the federal government by the end of the year so that he will not have to pay more taxes after he has his taxes done, which can cause a lot of undue stress at that time of year. A much better scenario is that the individual has paid more taxes than he owes to the government and is therefore owed a tax refund at the end of the year, meaning he helped the government out by lending that tax money to them for the year, but now it is time for the government to pay up.

Tax Table

If a person is single and the payroll is done on a bi-weekly basis, the percent of the tax on the federal withholding tax table is done according to the amount of money the person made during that pay period. For instance, if a person made up to $102, then there is not any tax withheld from that person’s paycheck since they made so little. When they make from $1,306 to $3,066 per bi-weekly pay period, then the tax is figured based on $165.90 plus twenty-eight percent of $1,306, even if the person made at the top end of the pay bracket. If a person makes over $13,833 per pay period, then they owe $3992.11 plus thirty-five percent of $13,833 per pay period, even if they make significantly more than that amount.

The same process is used on the federal withholding tax table for individuals who are married and filing jointly. If the income on a bi-weekly pay period is up to $308, then there is not any tax withheld from the paycheck. If the check is from $906 to $2,775 for that pay period, then the tax on the amount is $59.80 plus fifteen percent of $906, even if the individual made more than that amount. If the amount is $14,042 or more per pay period on a bi-weekly pay scale, the taxable income is $3,721.80 plus thirty-five percent of $14,042 even if the person makes significantly more than that per pay period. These federal withholding tax tables are for the employers to use, but are also helpful for the employees in deciding what to claim on their W-2 form, since they may want to change their status and lower their withholding, or raise their withholding, whatever the situation might call for.

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