You must meet certain requirements to be exempt from withholding and have no federal income tax withheld from your paychecks. Your employer might have withheld taxes but gave you an incorrect W-2. If this is true, your employer must issue you a corrected W-2. Your employer might have just made a mistake.

Why are no federal taxes being withheld from my paycheck?

If you see that your paycheck has no withholding tax, it could be because you are exempt. You qualify for exemption if in the previous year you had a right to a refund because you owed no federal income tax, and in the present year, you expect a refund because you do not anticipate owing any taxes.

What happens if there is no withholding on my W-2?

If you earned a small amount of wages that caused no withholding, then the right amount of tax was taken out. If your employer made the error, it must give you a corrected W-2, or W-2c, promptly after discovering the issue. You use the W-2c to file, or amend, your tax return with the IRS.

Do you have to file a W-2 with the IRS?

You use the W-2c to file, or amend, your tax return with the IRS. Your employer must also file the corrected W-2 with the Social Security Administration. Whether you’re supposed to file a return depends on your income threshold, not on whether you owe taxes.

What happens if my employer does not withhold federal tax?

If your employer didn’t withhold the correct amount of federal tax, contact your employer to have the correct amount withheld for the future. When you file your return, you’ll owe the amounts your employer should have withheld during the year as unpaid taxes. No Federal Income Tax Withheld?

Where is the Federal withholding field on a W-2?

The federal withholding field in Box 2 of your W-2 tells the IRS how much federal income tax you paid for the year. The box may be empty for any of several reasons.