charlesstricklin
Board Regular
- Joined
- May 6, 2013
- Messages
- 98
- Office Version
- 2021
- Platform
- Windows
I have been struggling to understand how to correctly calculate my federal withholding amount for my budget for what seems like years, and my amounts keep coming up close, but off by $10 or $20 every time I try to calculate anything.
I'd like to put my information out there and beg for your help in not only setting up my Excel budget worksheet, but understanding the steps, and I don't mind putting my income amounts out there because it's no big deal. I make a middle-class income for someone in my position, and I don't feel a need to make myself look more wealthy than I am.
With that, my information:
Payroll period: Bi-weekly
Status: Single
Exemptions: 1 ($155.80)
Gross pay for the period: $1,492.85
Withholding allowances: $105.39
I'm basing my calculations on Table B(1) Percentage Method Withholding Computations on page 27 of Publication 15-A Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide:
So, my understanding of the calculations should be:
Gross income for period ($1,492.85)
- standard exemption ($155.80)
- pretax deductions ($105.39)
= taxable income ($1,231.66)
taxable income ($1,231.66)
x 15%
= tax ($182.80)
- 30.85 (from table)
= $151.95 total withholding
...Which is close, but not quite. It's supposed to be $153.94, a difference of $1.99. Being the obsessive-compulsive person I am, that drives me crazy! I can't help but think I'm doing a step wrong or using a wrong amount or something. How may I determine where my logic error lies?
I'd like to put my information out there and beg for your help in not only setting up my Excel budget worksheet, but understanding the steps, and I don't mind putting my income amounts out there because it's no big deal. I make a middle-class income for someone in my position, and I don't feel a need to make myself look more wealthy than I am.
With that, my information:
Payroll period: Bi-weekly
Status: Single
Exemptions: 1 ($155.80)
Gross pay for the period: $1,492.85
Withholding allowances: $105.39
I'm basing my calculations on Table B(1) Percentage Method Withholding Computations on page 27 of Publication 15-A Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide:
So, my understanding of the calculations should be:
Gross income for period ($1,492.85)
- standard exemption ($155.80)
- pretax deductions ($105.39)
= taxable income ($1,231.66)
taxable income ($1,231.66)
x 15%
= tax ($182.80)
- 30.85 (from table)
= $151.95 total withholding
...Which is close, but not quite. It's supposed to be $153.94, a difference of $1.99. Being the obsessive-compulsive person I am, that drives me crazy! I can't help but think I'm doing a step wrong or using a wrong amount or something. How may I determine where my logic error lies?
