Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They did withhold FICA taxes. No idea on the other stuff. It's a bit concerning as it isn't a rinky-dink little place...The preschool alone has 160 kids so do the math on staff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JONOV
They held the state income tax correctly.
Now the situation of not withholding federal income taxes makes absolutely no sense.
Have your wife give her employer a copy and tell them that they are breaking the law by not withholding. They are also required to deposit the withholdings on the IRS schedule. The IRS gets very unhappy if required deposits are not made on their timetable.
My wife started working at a new job in August (Preschool teacher at a Church Preschool), and on her first pay stub, I noticed they didn't withhold any Federal taxes. She never got a good answer as to why, I made a note and prepared accordingly and since her total from that employer would be $5,700 for the year I wasn't overly concerned. Doing taxes again brought it to my attention, and apparently at least one coworker that didn't pay as close attention to her pay stubs and HAD worked there the full year got a nasty surprise. They didn't withold federal taxes for ANY employees.
They confronted someone at the Church business office about it and their reaction was, "Well, we don't know how much to withhold." Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the paperwork you fill out when you're hired where you ultimately sign the form counting your checkboxes, a specific instruction on how much to withold?
Your wife needs to change jobs immediately. Because she's going to be screwed by an employer who doesn't care in the least.
Or, if you were really mercenary about this, she could march into the church office, point out that what they're doing is wrong, get fired, and then turn the church into the IRS for tax fraud and collect a reward.
Something that many don’t understand is that a withholding agent who fails to withhold and remit income taxes can actually be liable to pay the income tax that they failed to withhold. It is one of the few situations where one can actually be liable for someone else’s taxes.
This church is potentially facing a HUGE liability situation.
Are you sure they are supposed to withhold Federal taxes based on her W4 elections and how much she makes? I know the form W4 changed this year but at least in the past I was able calculate (using IRS tax tables) how much was supposed to be withheld from my paycheck nearly to the penny. Her employer may not be obligated to withhold federal taxes. You said SS, Med and State taxes were withheld so that's why I'm thinking it's possible her employer is doing it correctly. I've seen paychecks such as your wife's with zero federal withholding but SS, Med and State withholding.
Are you sure they are supposed to withhold Federal taxes based on her W4 elections and how much she makes? I know the form W4 changed this year but at least in the past I was able calculate (using IRS tax tables) how much was supposed to be withheld from my paycheck nearly to the penny. Her employer may not be obligated to withhold federal taxes. You said SS, Med and State taxes were withheld so that's why I'm thinking it's possible her employer is doing it correctly. I've seen paychecks such as your wife's with zero federal withholding but SS, Med and State withholding.
I have a part time employee that is in the same situation. I use a payroll program and she doesn't work enough for the federal withholding to kick in. All other taxes are are withheld.
Maybe the laws have changed, but I think the “she doesn’t make enough for them to withhold taxes” argument is BS. When I was in high school making minimum wage working 15 hours a week, they took out Federal tax, state tax and FiCA. Of course I got the Fed and state tax back after I filed my taxes, but it was definitely taken out of my check.
OP I would definitely have your wife get a Social Security earnings statement to be certain the church actually reported her SS earnings.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
