why does a paychecks tax percentage vary by employer?
I live in Washington state. I worked at a burger joint owned by about four guys that are all hands on in this restaurant, also they own like 36 Little Caesars pizza in the state. I was charged 15.5% tax on my paycheck. Now I work at a chevron extra mile gas station, considered corporate by the name of Chevron Stations Inc., most chevrons are franchises. I get charged 18.9% each paycheck by them.
The only other relevant information would be, at the restaurant I got paid every two weeks, at chevron its weekly.
Update:the w4 was filled out the same. as for where I make more, it depends on how you look at it: at the restaurant 9.19 and the gas station 10.00, but over all I made more money monthly at the restaurant, I did not get tips. and I meant all taxes together - total percentage between net and gross pay.
Comments
claiming one % at one employer and another at the other employer may be entirely of your doing
both employers will withhold 7.65% for FICA, they are r'qrd to do so by IRS, the state might have an employee tax that could be 1% or more or less
that leaves the remainder of the 'taxes' for income tax and this could be reflected by the way you submitted your W-4 to your employer
you may not remember how you filed with the previous employer, what did you do on the most recent?
it is entirely possible the payroll program each company uses may have slight differences in the amount of income tax withheld but not several %'s
FICA social security and medicares tax amounts should be close to the same any where and time for each pay period depending on the Gross wages earning for each pay period OK.
FIT and SIT amount would change as the gross amounts would change for each pay period OK.
Go to the www.irs.gov website and use the search box for Publication 15 and the go to Chapter 16
16. How To Use the Income Tax Withholding Tables
Wage Bracket Method
Percentage Method
Alternative Methods of Income Tax Withholding
www.irs.gov/publications/p15/index.htm…
Hope that you find the above enclosed information useful. 09/09/2013
You didn't specify WHICH tax you are referring to.
On each of your paychecks there is withholding for:
federal income tax (varies depending on how much you make, how often you are paid and how you filled out your W-4)
federal social security tax 6.2%
federal medicare tax 1.45%
state industrial insurance (rate varies in WA depending on the business and type of work)
At the end of the year it doesn't really matter how much federal income tax is withheld. you will owe what you owe. If your employer took too much you get a refund. If they took too little you owe.
Income taxes are based upon your income and what you put on your W-4. If you are earning more now than at the burger joint OR if you claimed more allowances at the burger joint (or both) that would explain the difference. If your wages and the number of allowances that you claimed were exactly the same, so would be the taxes.
what gets taken out for taxes depends on how you filled out your W-4 form when you started.
did you fill out a W-4 form when you started at chevron. if you didn't fill out a form, they will take out the maximum amount for taxes. the W-4 form is what your employer uses to figure out how much tax to take out of your check. are you getting paid more at chevron than before?
It depends on the amount oF the check and you w4. Employer has no choice on what to withhold. You make more at the new job, don't you?
If you made the exact same amount per pay period, and filled out your W-4 the same way both places, taxes should be the same.
All other things being equal, they don't.
Federal Income taxes are not a flat percentage. The more you make, the more that is withheld.
Income taxes aren't flat!!!!