Tax Tips Handling Your W-4 and Tax Brackets When You Get a Raise Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by Elle Martinez Published Jan 24, 2011 - [Updated Jul 22, 2019] 2 min read Congratulations, you just got a raise! You’ve worked hard to build your company and your boss noticed enough to reward you for the effort. Now you can sit back and relax, right? Not quite, you may want to look at how your increased income affects your taxes in present filing year. Here’s some information to get you started and help you make the right choices for your situation. What’s a W-4? Whenever you start a new job, one of the forms you get from the Human Resources Department is your W-4, also known as Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. This form is filled out by you based on your current circumstances and it helps employers know how much to withhold every paycheck for your taxes. The goal is make sure you’re not paying too much or too little of your hard earned money to the government. Do You Need to Change Your W-4? As a rule of thumb, you should review and/or update your W-4 whenever your tax obligations. Possible changes include: marriage a change in the amount of itemized deductions a change in the number of dependents It is easy to update your form and it should take a total of 10 minutes or so. You can do it by hand or you can use the withholding calculator the IRS provides on their site. You can also check out Topic 753 to see what other circumstances can affect your W-4. Different Tax Brackets Right now that are several tax brackets that the United States uses based on income and filing status. They are currently: Marginal Tax Rate Single Head of Household Married, Filing Jointly or Qualified Widow(er) Married, Filing Separately 10% $0 – $8,375 $0 – $11,950 $0 – $16,750 $0 – $8,375 15% $8,376 – $34,000 $11,951 – $45,550 $16,751 – $68,000 $8,376 – $34,000 25% $34,001 – $82,400 $45,551 – $117,650 $68,001 – $137,300 $34,001 – $68,650 28% $82,401 – $171,850 $117,651 – $190,550 $137,301 – $209,250 $68,651 – $104,625 33% $171,851 – $373,650 $190,551 – $373,650 $209,251 – $373,650 $104,626 – $186,825 35% $373,651 and more $373,651 and more $373,651 and more $186,826 and more Source: IRS CFR 601.602 If you’re curious about your personal tax obligation, check out the IRS’ tax table to give you an idea. If you have any questions, speak with your Human Resource representative for specific instruction. Thoughts on Raises and W-4s How many of you received raises in the last year? How do you plan on using or spending it? When was the last time you’ve reviewed and or adjusted your W-4s? Previous Post Together in Life and Taxes Too? Next Post What are State Sales Taxes? Written by Elle Martinez Elle helps families at Couple Money achieve financial freedom by sharing tips for reducing debt, increase income, and building net worth. Learn how to live on one income and have fun with the second. More from Elle Martinez Visit the website of Elle Martinez. Follow Elle Martinez on Facebook. Follow Elle Martinez on Twitter. Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Taxes 101 Taxes 101:Tax Brackets Taxes 101 What Tax Forms Do I Need to File My Tax Return? Tax News Tax Form Arrival: What Other Tax Forms You Should Expec… Tax Planning 5 Common Tax Forms You Should Expect in the Mail Tax Planning When Should I Receive My W-2 Form? Tax Reform Tax Reform 101: Will Getting Married Change My Tax Situ… Taxes 101 What are Tax Withholdings? Taxes 101 Don’t Let Filing Multiple W-2s Scare You Tax Planning Top Four Lessons Learned for First Time Tax Filers Tax Tips What Is a 1099 Form? Reporting Your Income for Taxes