The Internal Revenue Service is again asking you to make sure the right amount of taxes are being taken out of your paycheck.
IRS spokesman, Chris Miller, says it’s important to look at the numbers now. “Time is running out for taxpayers to do a paycheck checkup. To check their withholding yet this year — to make sure the right amount of tax is being withheld from their paycheck for their situation,” Miller says. Miller says if you find a problem, there are still a few months to adjust your withholding amount to fix it.
“Doing a paycheck checkup now is going to help those taxpayers avoid a potential unwelcome surprise at tax time,” according to Miller. “And that could be an unexpected tax bill and a penalty. Or it could be a refund that’s unnecessarily large.” He says it’s better for you to not get a big refund, because you can use that money throughout the year.
Miller says they made an earlier push for everyone to check their withholding after the new tax law went into effect. “The new tax law will change the way many of us calculate our taxes. And it also has changed the amount of tax our employers are withholding from our paychecks,” Miller explains. He says those with more complicated tax returns are the ones who most need to check their withholding.
Miller says that includes two-income households, those with two or more jobs at a time, those who have had a job only part of the year, those who claim the child tax credit or itemize deductions in 2017 are all some who may see differences. Miller says they know that many people haven’t looked at their withholding since the tax law changed. He says it is easy to do.
“Just go to our website www.irs.gov and click on the link to do a paycheck checkup, or search for the withholding calculator,” Miller says. “You will need last year’s tax return, and a copy of your most recent pay stub.” Miller says there are still several months left to allow you to adjust your withholding and make up for any imbalance. But he says if you wait — you could run out of time to make a correction that would make a difference.