My total payroll income taxes is getting calculated as $1,861 per week for Earner 1, and yet that earner's paycheck lists total tax as 1,079.38. I double-checked the withholdings and what filing type (single/married) and that is correct. Where should I look next to figure out what is wrong?
Cells B61, B62 and B65 are totals for the family. Cells B/C 58, 59, 63, and 64 are per earner. If that explains things, great! If not, could you clarify which spreadsheet cells, paycheck details, etc., are being compared?
How do you handle bonuses, stock options vesting, and the like in this spreadsheet?
If subject to FICA, add annualized numbers to "Gross Salary/Wages", just as the employer will do for a W-2.
If not subject to FICA, there is cell D40, "Other taxable income", and cell B71, "Other Untaxed Income" for use as appropriate.
The total income in the spreadsheet is more than what I actually received in my checking account, and what we actually received includes a sign-on bonus that isn't accounted for in the spreadsheet. Somehow it is calculating our income to be a good amount greater than what we are taking home.
The tax amounts are calculated to match your actual tax liability. If you are over-withholding, your net paycheck amount will be lower than the spreadsheet number. The IRS will repay that interest-free loan you have given them when you file and get a refund.
If that doesn't explain it, then I'm not sure - other than converting among annual, monthly, 2X/month, biweekly, and weekly numbers, all income is user input. It is certainly possible that one (or more) of the frequency conversions is incorrect, but other than that...?
We just have too many moving parts to be able to capture this moment in time. We have one-off things like a sign-on bonus and stock options vesting that makes total income different (though not drastically so) year-to-year. There isn't a place for that in the spreadsheet. Last year we had a half-year of mortgage payments and this year will be a full year. Spending this year is higher because of mortgage and kiddo #2 who will be going to daycare soon. The new tax law throws a wrench in things. Add to this I think I can't really trust my bank's online spending tracking interface. I'm starting to suspect that this is a significant driver of me not having a good handle on the numbers. Can anyone recommend a simple way of tracking cash flow that is not Quicken?
The spreadsheet should help with the new tax law, but yes, irregular income and expenses can make things difficult.
Past one-off events are already accounted for in your taxable balance.
Future one-offs can be estimated with annualized numbers for maintenance, etc.
Sorry if you are Quicken-averse. We have grinned and borne it for >20 years.
