My First Paycheck
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Painted
My First Paycheck
I get my first paycheck tommorow. I wonder how tini it will be. It is pretty much going to be spent on a couple things. My license, my food permit, paying for my bike lights, and getting a new back tire. That's if I have enough. LOL. I am just hoping I can find some time to cash it because they have me working the days I can. It sucks because I had plans to go see The Ring Two on Sunday, but now I have to work because I need that food permit. Darn it. I am still working things out and seeing when we can go to the movies, and if we can go after I am off work.
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Painted
I worked a total of 29.5 hours and my first paycheck is worth $216.83...before taxes....after taxes I made $184.78
- Taxes they took out:
Washington L&I-$4.79
Federal Tax Withholding-$10.68
Medicare Tax-$3.14
Social Security Tax-$13.44
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AsaJay
- pantera pilot
- Posts: 596
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 8:56 am
- Location: Greater Pacific Northwest
Yea, but then who would you vote for? They all seem to want your money.
Welcome to the poverty stricken support program, thank you for your involuntary contribution.
Wait till you get to the end of the year, do your taxes, and find out that what you filled in on your W-4 form, lets you pay an additional $3,000 in taxes. Oh, and it's due when you send in your return.
Been there, done that, damn near couldn't raise the cash in time.
Beware.
Welcome to the poverty stricken support program, thank you for your involuntary contribution.
Wait till you get to the end of the year, do your taxes, and find out that what you filled in on your W-4 form, lets you pay an additional $3,000 in taxes. Oh, and it's due when you send in your return.
Been there, done that, damn near couldn't raise the cash in time.
Beware.
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Painted
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AsaJay
- pantera pilot
- Posts: 596
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 8:56 am
- Location: Greater Pacific Northwest
Well, here is the thing about taxes.
When you fill in a W-4, the idea is to claim the same amount of deductions that you will claim on your final return. The idea being, the IRS will take out enough money that you don't owe, and they won't owe you.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. In most cases, people end up oweing money. Not a lot usually. That $3,000 I talked about, appeared to be a fluke due to incorrect tax tables the employer was using, I'll never know.
If you simply clailm zero on your W-4, you should be in good shape, and at the end of the tax season, the IRS will owe you.
Now the argument usually states, you should never give the IRS anymore than they are due. And if you end up with a large tax return, -YOU- are the one who lost out on the interest. And it's true. Any money the IRS gives back to you, is money -you- didn't have in the bank to draw interest. It's a valid and good point.
The caveat to that, is that you need to know exactly how much to pay into the IRS, and none of us are quite that clarivoiant. (sp) And, if you -think- you've been paying the IRS enough, and have not set up an IRS savings account on your own, you run the risk of having to pay at the end of the year.
So it's really up to you how you want to go about it. I know some people who simply save money in a special savings account each year to pay the IRS if they owe. They get the interest on the money and not the IRS.
In my case, I don't want to have to bother with another account. I like getting a nice fat check from the IRS in April. It's kind of cool. The money -always- goes to paying for something; credit card debt, forward looking house payments, a new car, etc.
It will take you a couple of years to see how it all works probably. I know it looks discouraging when a big hunk of your paycheck goes missing. Just wait till later in life when you can contribute to a retirement plan, like a 401K, -and- pay for health care, etc. My typical take-home paycheck can be darn near -half- of my gross income. Yikes!
When you fill in a W-4, the idea is to claim the same amount of deductions that you will claim on your final return. The idea being, the IRS will take out enough money that you don't owe, and they won't owe you.
Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. In most cases, people end up oweing money. Not a lot usually. That $3,000 I talked about, appeared to be a fluke due to incorrect tax tables the employer was using, I'll never know.
If you simply clailm zero on your W-4, you should be in good shape, and at the end of the tax season, the IRS will owe you.
Now the argument usually states, you should never give the IRS anymore than they are due. And if you end up with a large tax return, -YOU- are the one who lost out on the interest. And it's true. Any money the IRS gives back to you, is money -you- didn't have in the bank to draw interest. It's a valid and good point.
The caveat to that, is that you need to know exactly how much to pay into the IRS, and none of us are quite that clarivoiant. (sp) And, if you -think- you've been paying the IRS enough, and have not set up an IRS savings account on your own, you run the risk of having to pay at the end of the year.
So it's really up to you how you want to go about it. I know some people who simply save money in a special savings account each year to pay the IRS if they owe. They get the interest on the money and not the IRS.
In my case, I don't want to have to bother with another account. I like getting a nice fat check from the IRS in April. It's kind of cool. The money -always- goes to paying for something; credit card debt, forward looking house payments, a new car, etc.
It will take you a couple of years to see how it all works probably. I know it looks discouraging when a big hunk of your paycheck goes missing. Just wait till later in life when you can contribute to a retirement plan, like a 401K, -and- pay for health care, etc. My typical take-home paycheck can be darn near -half- of my gross income. Yikes!
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Painted
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Pigman
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Painted
Yeah, I always say things that come into my head, and I have some really good one's I use against my brother. His friends call him BK (hint: his initials, Brandon Kapfer), so off of the top of my head I say, "BK like burger king, he likes the beef between his buns." ROLF! That one has me going all the time.
