The federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go system. Employers generally withhold tax from workers’ wages. Taxpayers also often have taxes withheld from certain other income including pensions, bonuses, commissions and gambling winnings.
People who do not pay tax through withholding, like the self-employed, generally pay estimated tax. In addition, those who earn income such as dividends, interest, capital gains, rent and royalties are usually required to make estimated tax payments.
Each year, because of life events like changes to household income or family size, some people get a larger refund than they expect while others find they owe more tax.
To prevent a tax-time surprise, the IRS offers these tips:
- New job
- Estimated tax
- Life event.
To read more about each of these go to IRS.gov
~This article was shared by the IRS.gov