Hey Americans!

Hey Americans! You're not obligated to give the government a free loan out of your paycheck, so don't! Do the math and submit a W-4 to your employer to minimize your withholding.

The IRS W-4 calculator is offline until the end of the month, but there are others.

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(www.hrblock.com)

@ryanc Can't the IRS also require you to pay estimated tax (or at least, penalize you if you don't)?

Estimated taxes | Internal Revenue Service

Who must pay estimated taxes, how much to pay and when to pay them.

(www.irs.gov)

@tychotithonus @ryanc no they can't require estimated payments but yes they can and will impose penalties if you should but don't

@ithoughtisawa2 @tychotithonus The exact amount you can under-withhold without incurring penalties can be calculated if your pay is predictable.

Just sayin'

@ithoughtisawa2 @tychotithonus You still owe it later if you under withhold, mind you, there's just no penalty if it's not too much.

@ithoughtisawa2 @tychotithonus also the penalties are minimal because mostly only rich people underpay estimated taxes

@ryanc @tychotithonus as long as you withhold at least 110% of what you owed the previous year you're good regardless of the amount owed (I think it's 110%)

@ithoughtisawa2 @tychotithonus yeah, something like that, or something like 90% or 95% of the current year

(ask me how i know)

@ryanc @tychotithonus I constantly underwithhold and always owe several hundred or more. I've only received an underpayment penalty once or twice. The penalty is not based on the amount you owe, it's based on the difference between what you owe and what you should have paid, so it's really not a bad deal.