The IRS is urging every worker to do a "paycheck checkup" while there's still time left in 2026. With roughly two and a half months to go, now is the moment to find out whether enough federal tax is coming out of your pay. Discovering a shortfall in October is an inconvenience. Discovering it next April can be a crisis.
The reminder came out of the IRS's National Payroll Week push in September, and it's worth taking seriously. Your withholding is supposed to cover your tax bill as you go. If it doesn't, the gap doesn't disappear. It waits for you at filing time, often with penalties and interest attached.
Most people set up their Form W-4 when they start a job and never look at it again. But life changes, and your withholding doesn't adjust on its own. The IRS recommends a fresh look if any of these happened this year:
- You started, left, or changed jobs
- You or your spouse started or stopped working
- You picked up a second job or side income
- You got married or divorced
- You had or adopted a child
- Your income changed a lot through a raise, pay cut, bonus, or commissions
Gig workers, freelancers, and the self-employed face the biggest risk. They usually have no tax withheld at all and must make quarterly estimated payments instead. If any of these describe you, there's a real chance you're behind.
The checkup takes about 15 minutes and costs nothing.
- Gather your most recent pay stub (and your spouse's, if you file jointly), plus last year's tax return.
- Run the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. It uses your year-to-date pay, income, deductions, and credits to project whether you'll owe or get a refund.
- Submit a new Form W-4 to your employer if the estimator shows a gap. Don't send it to the IRS. Your employer adjusts your withholding for the rest of the year.
- Self-employed or have side income? Make an estimated payment for the remaining quarter. If you also have a W-2 job, you can ask your employer to withhold extra through a new W-4 instead.
The goal isn't the biggest possible refund. It's having the right amount taken out, so you neither owe a surprise bill nor lend the government money interest-free.
It's tempting to deal with it at tax time. Here's what that can mean.
The underpayment penalty is already building. The IRS expects tax to be paid as income is earned, not in a lump sum in April. If you come up short, you can owe an underpayment penalty. It's figured on how much you were short and for how long, at the IRS interest rate, which is 7% a year, compounded daily through the end of 2026.
Fixing it now can help you avoid that penalty. You're generally protected if you owe less than $1,000 at filing, or if you paid at least 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% if your prior-year AGI was over $150,000). Extra withholding from your last few paychecks counts toward those thresholds, and it's generally treated as if it were paid evenly through the year. That makes a W-4 change one of the best tools left in 2026.
A big bill in April is harder to pay. Spread over a few paychecks, a shortfall is manageable. Due all at once, it can be thousands of dollars, right when many families are already stretched.
Unpaid tax keeps growing. If you file but can't pay in full, a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% a month applies, up to 25%, plus interest. A payment plan lowers that rate, but the balance and the IRS letters keep coming.
Problems compound. One year's shortfall can lead to a payment plan, which can collide with next year's taxes. That cycle is much easier to stop in October than to break out of later.
An underpayment you catch today is a problem you can solve on your own terms: a W-4 tweak, an estimated payment, a few smaller paychecks. The same underpayment found next April can mean penalties, interest, and a bill you may not be able to cover. Every paycheck between now and December 31 is a chance to close the gap. After that, the options narrow.
If your checkup turns up a shortfall, or you're already behind from a prior year, don't wait for the IRS to set the timeline. Our team can help you figure out what you owe, reduce penalty exposure where possible, and build a plan before the bill comes due. Contact Bryson Law Firm, LLC today to schedule a consultation.
