If Box 2, "Federal income tax withheld," is blank on the W-2 form you file with your annual tax return, your employer either didn't withhold taxes or an error occurred in transferring the information to the form. If you didn't have money withheld, you must pay your federal tax when you file a return.
If you claimed tax exemption on your W-4 form, no federal income tax is withheld from your wages. You qualify for exemption if in the previous year you had a right to a refund because you owed no federal income tax, and in the present year, you expect a refund because you do not anticipate owing any taxes.
Most likely, your employer didn't withhold any tax since your income was too low to require that. If you are not a dependent of your parents on their tax return, you should complete the Earned Income Section on the Deductions and Credits section of TurboTax to see if you qualify for an earned income tax credit.
Reasons Why You Might Not Have Paid Federal Income Tax
You Didn't Earn Enough. You Are Exempt from Federal Taxes. You Live and Work in Different States. There's No Income Tax in Your State.
When you file exempt with your employer for federal tax withholding, you do not make any tax payments during the year. Without paying tax, you do not qualify for a tax refund unless you qualify to claim a refundable tax credit, like the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Penalties. Failure to do so will get the attention of the IRS and can result in civil and even criminal penalties. Sometimes the failure to pay is an oversight or a lack of understanding of what legal duties exist.
If you're considered an independent contractor, there would be no federal tax withheld from your pay. In fact, your employer would not withhold any tax at all. If this is the case: You probably received a Form 1099-MISC instead of a W-2 to report your wages.
Federal income tax withholding is driven by the number of allowances you claim on Form W-4. Each allowance you claim lowers your taxable wages. If you claim too many allowances, an insufficient amount of taxes will be withheld from your pay and you will owe taxes when you file your income tax return.
There is no threshold amount for withholding taxes from an employee's wages. As an employer, you're responsible for withholding taxes on every employee's wages from day one based on the information the employee provides to you on Form W-4.
If you find that you are correct and there was Federal Income Tax Withholding from your pay that was not reported on your Form W-2 Box 2, you should immediately contact your Employer and have them issue you a corrected W-2C.
If you didn't account for each job across your W-4s, you may not have withheld enough, so your tax refund could be less than expected in 2021. Not factoring eligibility changes for tax credits and deductions: There may be other impacts on your refund due to the credits you can take.
The federal withholding tax has seven rates for 2021: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%. The federal withholding tax rate an employee owes depends on their income level and filing status. This all depends on whether you're filing as single, married jointly or married separately, or head of household.
By placing a “0” on line 5, you are indicating that you want the most amount of tax taken out of your pay each pay period. If you wish to claim 1 for yourself instead, then less tax is taken out of your pay each pay period.
Tips. While claiming one allowance on your W-4 means your employer will take less money out of your paycheck for federal taxes, it does not impact how much taxes you'll actually owe. Depending on your income and any deductions or credits that apply to you, you may receive a tax refund or have to pay a difference.
Claiming 1 on Your Taxes
Claiming 1 reduces the amount of taxes that are withheld, which means you will get more money each paycheck instead of waiting until your tax refund. You could also still get a small refund while having a larger paycheck if you claim 1. It just depends on your situation.
You are tax-exempt when you do not meet the requirements for paying tax. This usually happens because your income is lower than the tax threshold. To make the tax collection process smoother, your employer subtracts the tax you need to pay from your paycheck before you receive it.
To be exempt from withholding, both of the following must be true: You owed no federal income tax in the prior tax year, and. You expect to owe no federal income tax in the current tax year.
Why is box 1 of my Form W-2 blank? The IRS requested that for people with the Difficulty of Care exclusion for the entire year, we leave boxes 1 and 2 blank on their Form W-2.
When you file exempt with your employer for federal tax withholding, you do not make any tax payments during the year. Without paying tax, you do not qualify for a tax refund unless you qualify to claim a refundable tax credit, like the Earned Income Tax Credit.
If you didn't account for each job across your W-4s, you may not have withheld enough, so your tax refund could be less than expected in 2021. Not factoring eligibility changes for tax credits and deductions: There may be other impacts on your refund due to the credits you can take.
No Federal Income Tax Withheld
When you file, you'll list what you made and what taxes you paid during the tax year. If your employer didn't take out enough, you'll owe on April 15. If your employer took out too much, you'll get a refund.
Federal income tax withholding is driven by the number of allowances you claim on Form W-4. Each allowance you claim lowers your taxable wages. If you claim too many allowances, an insufficient amount of taxes will be withheld from your pay and you will owe taxes when you file your income tax return.