There is no rule of law, then what are we doing here? Why are we playing ball?
Ok, MAGA wants to burn it down. Good for MAGA, they still don’t get to decide for everyone.
I won’t be able to do this for long. Why aren’t we in the streets? What’s so great about your life that authoritarian rule is not a threat to you?
Honestly - set your paycheck withholding to zero, hope others do the same to defund the government… and when tax day comes next year double check if the IRS still exists before submitting your payment.
100% doing this.
I’ll be an old man telling 16 year olds to withold 0 and create a savings account for tax day sounding like a depression era grandma telling you to reuse the trash bags.
What? You have it backwards. 0 withholdings means the largest amount withheld on your paycheck, and a higher refund end of year.
Just so you know, you will likely face underpayment penalties doing this.
I suggest you avoid giving 16 year olds tax advice.
No you won’t.
Yeah I will
Damn, guess you got em
That’s quite the hope to risk prison for on someone else’s advice.
I don’t think you’ll want to risk prison time, especially when you risk being locked up alongside MS-13 gang members.
Trump has agreed a deal with Nayib Bukele that will effectively allow him to deport illegal immigrants of any nationality to El Salvador and transfer US prisoners to their facilities.
Just make sure to set those taxes aside so if it does still exist you don’t end up in jail for nonpayment.
Most employers don’t give you that option.
If you’re an employee, you should have filled out a W4 when you started your job to indicate your tax withholding. You are able to submit a new W4 at any time
This is bad advice. The annual income you report on your taxes indicates how much you should have been setting aside throughout the year. Failing to do so can result in fines. There are exceptions for when your income increases part way through a year, but if you do what you describe, they WILL ding you for that.
You misunderstand how tax withholding works. When you sign up for tax withholding, the IRS gets a portion of your wage each paycheck and sets it aside for you to cover your tax bill the following year. The IRS is only holding that money for you during that time before your annual bill is due, in what amounts to you loaning the government money interest-free. Many people do not withhold taxes and just pay it all at once. And yes, at this point, whether the IRS will exist as a functioning entity in 2026 is a legitimate question, so not giving them a free loan might be a good idea
You don’t pay all at once, you need to pay quarterly tax estimates or you will be constantly paying penalties.
I really wish people would stop giving bad tax advice to strangers.
https://www.irs.gov/payments/underpayment-of-estimated-tax-by-individuals-penalty
This! Thank you! Apologies for getting the reason for the penalty wrong, but I have personally had to pay this and I was starting to feel gaslit. Turns out, when you go on unemployment, you should still withhold for taxes even if you feel like you need that money more while unemployed.
Thank you for posting something like this. It’s clear that some folks posting have no clue what they’re talking about.
You can underwithold income and payroll taxes through the year. There is no need to have periodic withholding it is just a convenience for budgeting.
The thing you cannot do if you don’t declare standard withholding is fall short or pay late (without a qualified extension). If you’re unable to pay the taxes you declined to pay through the year they will go after you. And if you’re late paying you will pay pretty significant interest on your owed amount.