Worried about how much I owe in taxes after summer gig

Guys, I interned at a BB last summer and just received my W2 from my employer. I hadn't looked at the numbers too closely before, but now I am really worried- it seems like wayyyy too little money was with held from me.

I received gross pay of $21,542. This included relocation bonus, regular pay and $6,152 of overtime pay.

$3,338 in federal taxes and $1248 in NY state taxes were withheld for a total of $4,586.

So I have only paid $4,586 on $21,542 of gross income so far (21.2%)? Wtf is going on? Did my firm omit taxing my $6,152 of overtime pay or something? Will I have to pay big money when I file my taxes.

One thing is that I am exempt from Medicare and Social Security taxes (and so those taxes were not withheld from my pay nor do I owe them).

8 Comments
 

Anyone? Please?

The tax rate for most interns would be close to 40-45% inclusive of federal, state and FICA taxes, right? Since I don't pay FICA taxes (which is what like 10%?), I should still have a tax liability in the range of 30-35%? Or is that too much?

 
Best Response
worriedanalyst

Anyone? Please?

The tax rate for most interns would be close to 40-45% inclusive of federal, state and FICA taxes, right? Since I don't pay FICA taxes (which is what like 10%?), I should still have a tax liability in the range of 30-35%? Or is that too much?

Considering you only had $21k in gross income, the tax bracket you fall in is only 15% (also note that including the standard deduction and personal exemption that's another 9-10k off of your gross income that's taxable). Your effective tax rate is probably closer to 12% for the feds, and just skimming the New York state income tax, you're probably looking at another 5-6% for the state. So just looking at the numbers you're probably close to what you actually owe (again note, the amount of taxes taken out of your pay =/= the amount of tax you may owe, it's only withholding for your expected liability). I'm guessing if you're exempt from FICA that you're not a US citizen, and you might be use to higher taxes in your native country, but your numbers don't give me any cause for concern.

Edit: I should also point out that I'm assuming the 21k is the only taxable income you had for the year. If not, then it's hard to tell if you've had enough withheld just based on that one W-2.

 

Sunt harum natus culpa rerum. Qui hic blanditiis animi rem voluptatem. Adipisci perspiciatis excepturi perspiciatis est mollitia tempora. Esse eveniet ut officia quae.

Et laborum corporis numquam neque. Laudantium omnis cumque rerum illo quaerat quia. Voluptates error qui architecto quasi.

Consectetur voluptatum sit eius molestiae accusamus voluptates. Est ut et cumque at. Cumque perferendis non impedit quia non eum. Saepe iste sapiente eius neque nemo assumenda voluptas. Quaerat illo voluptatibus recusandae placeat quidem.

Fugiat id et quo sit earum nobis. Ut dolorum sunt expedita et quidem nam. At neque inventore ipsa omnis dolorem possimus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”