Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - I owe 700 dollars to the IRS. Here's my excuse.

tehblaed · 02-24-2004, 09:20 PM

I was only 16 years old when I was hired by Shoppers Food Warehouse. At this point, I was not yet making enough money to file taxes, so I had not filled out the W-4s and such to get the IRS to take money out of my paychecks. Not a big deal.

Here's the problem. 17 years old rolls around, I decide I'm going to file for the year 2003 - so I ask my manager for the papers so that they can start taking taxes out. Under his counsel, I filled out a federal W-4 form. I claimed 1 because of the line "If you are single..." - I'm not married.

So, all is fine and dandy. Until I get my w-2 form in January and fill out an eFile. Apparently I owe 122 dollars to federal (this is understandable - I claimed 1 exemption), and 570 dollars to the state.

Now, 570 dollars is a lot of money for me to owe, because I only made 9,500 dollars the entire year of 2003. I'm only 18 years old, and I still live with my parents. I did some investigation, and apparently there is a state form you must fill out for them to take state taxes out (since I filled out no form, technically I was claiming full exemption, thus they took out no state taxes at all).

Hrm. Funny, because I asked my manager for the forms so that the government to take out taxes. I was 17 and filled out the W-4 under his counsel. I never saw nor heard mention of a state form.

So, basically what I'm asking is - I am responsible for this? Do I have to shell out the 500 odd dollars for state taxes, or is there some kind of liability my employer has since I was a minor and filled it out under his counsel?

02-24-2004, 09:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
tehblaed Insane Location: land of the merry	I owe 700 dollars to the IRS. Here's my excuse. I was only 16 years old when I was hired by Shoppers Food Warehouse. At this point, I was not yet making enough money to file taxes, so I had not filled out the W-4s and such to get the IRS to take money out of my paychecks. Not a big deal. Here's the problem. 17 years old rolls around, I decide I'm going to file for the year 2003 - so I ask my manager for the papers so that they can start taking taxes out. Under his counsel, I filled out a federal W-4 form. I claimed 1 because of the line "If you are single..." - I'm not married. So, all is fine and dandy. Until I get my w-2 form in January and fill out an eFile. Apparently I owe 122 dollars to federal (this is understandable - I claimed 1 exemption), and 570 dollars to the state. Now, 570 dollars is a lot of money for me to owe, because I only made 9,500 dollars the entire year of 2003. I'm only 18 years old, and I still live with my parents. I did some investigation, and apparently there is a state form you must fill out for them to take state taxes out (since I filled out no form, technically I was claiming full exemption, thus they took out no state taxes at all). Hrm. Funny, because I asked my manager for the forms so that the government to take out taxes. I was 17 and filled out the W-4 under his counsel. I never saw nor heard mention of a state form. So, basically what I'm asking is - I am responsible for this? Do I have to shell out the 500 odd dollars for state taxes, or is there some kind of liability my employer has since I was a minor and filled it out under his counsel?