confused about my payheck

[Anonymous]

Hi -- I make 700/wk caring for 2 kids -- one is school 9-3 M-F (I drop him off and pick him up) and one little girl 2 years old at home with me FT. I start my day at 8:30 and end by 5:30. My employers take out taxes and my checks are like $530 a week? MB also says she has to pay some taxes too...I know father works for the federal govt and they were very up front that taxes had to be taken out when I was hired -- but does this seem like a lot to anyone? Also, for what its worth, they have a professional service do the pay and send the money from their accounts to my account every week -- so I know they are actually paying taxes and not shorting me. It just seems like a lot of taxes to pay no? Can anyone break this down for me?

[Anonymous]

You should ask for a pay stub so that you can see where all of your money is going.

[Anonymous]

Take your pay stub to an H&R or somewhere. We don't know what your deductions are or what state you're in.

[Anonymous]

It sounds about right for a single person with one or two allowances. The payroll company should be able to supply you with a paystub. I can log-in online to view my paystub each week if I choose to.

SS withholding is 6.2% of gross pay.
Medicare withholding is 1.45% of gross pay.
Your federal and state withholdings depend on the number of allowances you claimed when you filled out your W-4.

[Anonymous]

What state are you in? Are you single, or do you have a family?

They should be giving you a paystub. Or they will if you ask for one.

That seems like a lot to be taken out, yes. But I don't know what state you live in, what deductions you have, etc.

[Anonymous]

Yes, if you are single with no dependents that sounds right. It is a good idea to ask for a pays tub so you can see the exact numbers, but here is a sample using the calculators at 4nannytaxes.com (assuming single, no dependents, living in VA):


Calculations Based On:
Weekly Gross Wages: $700.00
Pay Frequency: Weekly
Filing Status: Single
Withholding Allowances: 1
State: VA

Weekly Results:
Gross Wages: $700.00
Social Security: ($43.40)
Medicare: ($10.15)
Federal Withholding (2013): ($78.85)
VA State Tax : ($30.95)
Employee Net Pay: $536.65

[Anonymous]

Sounds about right to me.

If they're using a professional service you should be able to call the company and get them to explain the breakdown to you (and they should be sending you paystubs w/ every payment - perhaps they're doing that electronically and you didn't realize?)

Taxes are a bummer for sure!

[Anonymous]

If OP isn't getting a pay stub, the story doesn't measure up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If OP isn't getting a pay stub, the story doesn't measure up.

It does sound right if the family OP is working for is using a payroll service with direct deposit. My employers use Breedlove and we have direct deposit set up. Every Friday I receive an email stating the amount being deposited into my account for the listed pay period. If I want my paystub I need to log-in to view and print it.

[Anonymous]

I thought OP isn't getting a pay stub, in any form.

[Anonymous]

Taxes are about 30% of your pay, so it sounds correct. Use the nanny tax calculator to make sure-

https://secure.gtmassociates.com/calculator.aspx

[Anonymous]

OP it sounds right - and I worked a job previously where my employer withheld taxes on my behalf, never gave me a pay stub, and everything worked out fine when taxes rolled around. However, you are absolutely within your right to ask for a pay stub or a summary of your pay/taxes YTD (which they should be keeping track of, if they're withholding taxes), so just request it to put your mind at ease.