This year many have made changes in payroll withholding to make sure they avoid a big refund from the IRS or, maybe, a big bill. Depending on what you entered, you may have seen a big impact in your take-home pay that was intended to put you 1) in a good position come tax time and 2) to have the money each month to manage your finances.
Regardless of your reason, now is a good time to review those changes and make sure you are on track.
As we enter the 4th quarter of the year, time is running out to make any possible correction. With three more months of payroll, you can make sure you are on track to achieve what you set out to do.
The IRS offers a free tool to help you. For several weeks the site was unavailable as changes were made to, what appears, was the whole IRS site. That tool is now back up and available for your use. You can access that tool by clicking here.
Gather your most current paycheck(s), your 2011 tax return ( if you had or will have deductions ), and visit the IRS site this weekend. You can run that tool several times to. Make sure that you are inputting your information correctly.
From what you learn there, print a W4 and make the changes suggested, and pass at form to your HR or payroll representative now to see your changes reflected.
Unfortunately, your state may not have a nice tool like the IRS provides. Regardless, make sure you review your state tax withholding too. Visit your state’s department of revenue site to see what they do offer to assist you. Make your needed changes there quickly too.
The last quarter is here. Review now!