You've got a good point about the total tax picture. I included sales tax in my second calculation which pushed it up to 12.54%, and I'm lucky to live in a state with relatively low income tax. California definitely hits harder with the state income tax. Do you feel like you get good value from the services your taxes provide there? I sometimes wonder if I'd be willing to pay more if I saw better infrastructure and public services where I live.

Regarding California value - it's honestly mixed. Some things are amazing like certain parks and public universities, but other infrastructure is crumbling. I think the issue isn't necessarily tax rates but efficiency of spending. Comparing to friends in Europe, they pay higher rates but seem to get more consistent services across the board. Here it feels like a patchwork where some things are world-class and others are embarrassingly bad. It's frustrating paying substantial taxes and still having to drive around potholes that have been there for years.

This is a bit misleading though. Very few people actually paid those high rates back then because there were way more loopholes and deductions. The effective tax rates weren't that different from today for most income levels. The tax code has been simplified in some ways, but the actual amount collected hasn't changed as drastically as just looking at the top rates would suggest.

Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely ask for a detailed breakdown. Did you have to pay interest on top of the missing FICA taxes?

No, I didn't have to pay any interest. Since it was their error, they only collected the actual missing FICA amounts. They initially tried to include interest in their calculation, but I pushed back and pointed out that their own policy stated that administrative errors shouldn't result in additional costs to employees. I'd recommend checking your university's HR policies on payroll errors. Most have some language about how corrections should be handled, and this might give you some leverage if they try to charge interest or penalties.

Good point. When my company had a similar FICA withholding error, I adjusted my W-4 to reduce other withholding temporarily while I was paying back the FICA. You can increase your allowances slightly to offset some of the pain if needed.

Whoa, I had no idea about the Recovery Rebate Credit! I definitely didn't get any stimulus money before because my parents claimed me. How do I check if I qualify for this? Would it be a significant amount?

You should qualify if you didn't receive the third stimulus payment (which was $1,400) and you're now filing as independent. Most tax software will ask you questions about this specifically - something like "Did you receive the third Economic Impact Payment in 2021?" It's definitely significant - it would be up to $1,400 added to your refund! Your tax software should help calculate this, but make sure you answer the questions about Economic Impact Payments carefully. If your parents received the payment for you as their dependent in 2021, you wouldn't qualify, but if no one received a payment for you, you likely will.

This is such an important distinction! I messed this up my first time filing too. I thought by selecting "Single" as my filing status, I was automatically indicating that I was claiming myself. But they're totally different questions on the tax forms.

This is super helpful, thank you! I didn't even know I could check what my employer reported to the IRS. Do these transcripts become available pretty quickly after employers submit them, or is there a delay? If my W2 just got generated recently, would it even show up there yet?

The wage and income transcripts are usually available by late May or June for the previous tax year, but there can be some lag time. If your employer truly just submitted your information recently, it might not show up yet. However, most employers submit their W2 information by the end of January, even if they're slow in getting the actual forms to employees. It's always worth checking - you might be surprised to find your information has been there all along, which could potentially strengthen your case about employer negligence for the penalty abatement request.

I don't think this advice is correct. Form 4852 is only if you NEVER received your W-2 or if it's incorrect. Since OP has the W-2 now, even though it's late, they should use the actual W-2 for filing, not the substitute form.

I completely forgot about social security taxes, thank you! Do you know if there's a minimum threshold for this? Like if I'm only there for 8 months, would that change anything about Social Security obligations?

For Social Security taxes, the duration of your stay doesn't typically create a minimum threshold. If you're employed by a US company, they'll generally continue to withhold Social Security and Medicare taxes from your paychecks regardless of where you're physically working, unless there's a totalization agreement with that country. As far as I know, the US and Kenya don't have a totalization agreement, so you'd continue paying into the US Social Security system. The good news is this means you'll continue earning credits toward your eventual US Social Security benefits, even while working abroad.

I'm not a tax expert, but from what I understand, Kenya typically doesn't consider you a tax resident unless you're there for 183+ days in a year. Since you were only there for 3 months (presumably less than 90 days), you likely weren't subject to Kenyan income tax. If you did everything correctly with your US taxes and reported all your income there, you probably don't need to worry about filing anything retroactively for Kenya. But if you're concerned, it might be worth consulting with a tax professional who knows the Kenyan tax system.

That's a relief! Yes I was there for exactly 89 days and did report everything on my US taxes. Was worried I might have some surprise tax bill waiting for me from the Kenyan government. Thanks for the info!