
Ask HN: First time US employment, does the company pays the taxes or me? - validuserfr
Hi,<p>I&#x27;ve really don&#x27;t know how to search for this particular information. I&#x27;m basically don&#x27;t know how the tax system in US is working.<p>Now I&#x27;m going to work for a new US based company and the salary is six figures. Of course there are income and federal state taxes to be paid.<p>Now my question is, how are these taxes being paid? Is the employer responsible of this? Or do I get all the money and I need to pay the taxes? This is really a basic question for you probably, but I&#x27;m really curious how the whole system works.
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madcaptenor
You are responsible for the taxes, but an estimate of those taxes will be
withheld from your paycheck. However your employer doesn't know all the
details of your tax situation, so the amount withheld is not exactly correct.
Each year by April 15 you file a "tax return" which calculates how much you
actually owe, and you'll either get a refund or owe. (The taxes withheld from
paychecks are set up so that most people get refunds.)

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validuserfr
Thanks a lot madcaptenor. This totally makes sense now. And what happens if I
start for example in January 15, this means I'm only responsible for 3 months
until April 15 right?

Also what happens when I'm absent for example for say 2 months (March,April),
can I do it later?

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sharemywin
also, you can file an extension if you don't owe money. you can use an online
service to help or there are tax preparerors also. but you can probably file
it your self or online.

~~~
greenyoda
You can file for an extension on the paperwork even if you owe money, but you
need to send a payment (based on your estimate of what you owe) with your
extension application, since the money is due on April 15th whether you get an
extension or not. (If you significantly underestimate what you owe, you'll be
charged a penalty plus interest.)

Also, to clarify what others have said: If you start work in January 2016, you
will not need to file taxes in April 2016: the April 15, 2016 filing date is
for taxes on income in the _previous_ year (January - December 2015). For
income earned in 2016, you'll need to file taxes by April 2017.

 _" Now I'm going to work for a new US based company and the salary is six
figures."_

This sounds like you'll be a regular employee of the company, which is what
all the people who have replied here are assuming. However, if you're going to
be paid as an independent contractor (taxes reported on a 1099 form rather
than a W-2), the tax situation would be entirely different: the company won't
withhold taxes and you'll be responsible for making quarterly estimated tax
payments.

The agency in charge of U.S. federal taxes is the IRS, and they have a huge
amount of information on their web site, [http://irs.gov](http://irs.gov),
ranging from very basic introductory stuff to the most detailed information
for accounting professionals. Every state also has a similar web site for
their state income tax.

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sharemywin
your responsible for the taxes but money is held back in form your check so
you don't owe a bunch at the end of the year. in fact if it's off to much you
can owe a penalty.

