A paycheck arrives and the number at the bottom looks familiar, so you move on to the bills and groceries and leave the tax lines alone. Then something changes. You take another job, your spouse stops working, or the household starts bringing in money that doesn't come through payroll. The paycheck still looks ordinary, but it may no longer tell the whole story. That is a good time to check federal income tax withholding rather than wait for a refund or a balance due to reveal the mismatch. You don't have to guess a new number from the size of last year's refund. The IRS has a tool for reviewing the current picture, and the useful part of the exercise starts with gathering the right records.
What withholding actually does
Federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go tax. The IRS explains that an employer generally takes income tax from an employee's … Read the rest “When to Check Your Tax Withholding Before the Next Paycheck”



