[Zjohkrbi]

So, as I look at these 68 hour weeks I'm starting to wonder... is it even worth it? According to my math it's not.

Anyone have any good resources on figuring this crap out? After taxes, deducations, etc. it appears that my OT hours would only be worth $13/hr. How the hell does time and a half pay come out to be LESS than your normal hourly wage. I mean seriously.. come on... that's f'd up.

[WepKeyday]

So, as I look at these 68 hour weeks I'm starting to wonder... is it even worth it? According to my math it's not.

Anyone have any good resources on figuring this crap out? After taxes, deducations, etc. it appears that my OT hours would only be worth $13/hr. How the hell does time and a half pay come out to be LESS than your normal hourly wage. I mean seriously.. come on... that's f'd up.

I don't get paid over time but I did get a (very) small 'bonus' there is definitely something different with the tax scheme on additional pay. $250 quickly became about $150 something.

[Zjohkrbi]

I don't get paid over time but I did get a (very) small 'bonus' there is definitely something different with the tax scheme on additional pay. $250 quickly became about $150 something.

That's the gift tax. They taxed our bonuses and it cut off like $500 on an $1100 bonus. That was last year though. Fat chance we'll get a bonus this year. Only the people high on the scrotum pole get bonuses anymore, and it's their fault we're in this mess. God it pisses me off how it's always the people who screw everything up that get all the phat pay, and the people dealing with the mess and trying to fix it get the shaft.

[saerensenatljn]

I know where I work, it actually costs me money to work only 8 hours of overtime. For my "bonus" (years back of course ) exactly half went to taxes.

[sallythetolly]

That's the gift tax. They taxed our bonuses and it cut off like $500 on an $1100 bonus. That was last year though. Fat chance we'll get a bonus this year. Only the people high on the scrotum pole get bonuses anymore, and it's their fault we're in this mess. God it pisses me off how it's always the people who screw everything up that get all the phat pay, and the people dealing with the mess and trying to fix it get the shaft.

The company I work for grew really strong during the economic problems, I know because I do the financial reports. They still screwed everyone out of raises and bonuses and said it was because of the economy.

[Zjohkrbi]

The company I work for grew really strong during the economic problems, I know because I do the financial reports. They still screwed everyone out of raises and bonuses and said it was because of the economy.

That's BS. I'd be seriously pissed if the company I work for did that. Where I work they decided to do some changes to the systems we use. Instead of reducing headcount we're working 60+ hour weeks and hired like 20 new people and we're still falling farther behind than we've ever been.

[mylittlejewelaa]

If the marginal rate of tax makes it uneconomical to work overtime, then don't work overtime.

If you need the money then take what you can get; you still get paid more.

[Zjohkrbi]

If the marginal rate of tax makes it uneconomical to work overtime, then don't work overtime.

It's mandatory overtime. I either work it, or I find a new job.

I wish there was another company hiring. I'd work these terrible hours if the taxes didn't rape my paycheck so hard. There's no way I'll be able to do college like this.

[teewHettive]

As somebody currently in college and still unsure of what major to choose, do you mind telling us what job you hold so I can steer clear of it.

[7HlBQS8j]

Won't you get a good % of that back at the end of the year when you file your taxes?

[Zjohkrbi]

As somebody currently in college and still unsure of what major to choose, do you mind telling us what job you hold so I can steer clear of it.

My job title is Corporate Bitch. It involves helpdesk support for computer illiterate people here at work. Writing applications to interface with our various systems. Processing orders like everyone else. Taking phonecalls for 3 hours a night to assist our customers. Writing logic for business rules for our ordering system.

About the only thing I don't do here is mow the lawn. I believe the only reason for that is that we have no lawn to mow.

A word of advice: Never, EVER, let your employer know about any special skills you have. Do your job and keep your mouth shut. As soon as they find out you have a wide variety of skills they'll have you doing everyone else's job (especially the ones that pay 5x what your does) and pay you your same shitty salary. I spent the past year and a half not even doing the job I was hired to do...

Another co-worker of mine agreed to work on a "special project" once. They stuck her with 12,000 user accounts to create that were due by 2:00 AM the next morning.

[mylittlejewelaa]

It's mandatory overtime. I either work it, or I find a new job.

I wish there was another company hiring. I'd work these terrible hours if the taxes didn't rape my paycheck so hard. There's no way I'll be able to do college like this.

If it's mandatory overtime, is it specified in your employment contract? If so, it shouldn't be taxed as extra pay?

[Zjohkrbi]

If it's mandatory overtime, is it specified in your employment contract? If so, it shouldn't be taxed as extra pay?

There are no contracts in my state. All employment is at will, and there are no specific agreements. They can do what they please with me. They even changed the OT policy this year so that if you take time off you lose that much time and a half pay for the week.

Besides, the tax issue isn't really my employer's fault. It's uncle sam taking his cut.

[SM9WI8oI]

If it's mandatory overtime, is it specified in your employment contract? If so, it shouldn't be taxed as extra pay?

The way our stupid income tax system works is just that, stupid. If working overtime gets more taxes taken out of your pay, then you should get more back at the end of the year unless it bumps you up into the next tax bracket. And if you're unlucky enough to be right under the next tax bracket with normal pay, working any paid overtime can actually cause you to bring home LESS money than normal because the system is designed to take out the appropriate amount of taxes based on a single pay period.

One year I got boned because at the end of the year I ended up owing a couple hundred dollars to federal taxes because my employer somehow ended up not taking enough money out for the year.

[mylittlejewelaa]

The way our stupid income tax system works is just that, stupid. If working overtime gets more taxes taken out of your pay, then you should get more back at the end of the year unless it bumps you up into the next tax bracket. And if you're unlucky enough to be right under the next tax bracket with normal pay, working any paid overtime can actually cause you to bring home LESS money than normal because the system is designed to take out the appropriate amount of taxes based on a single pay period.

One year I got boned because at the end of the year I ended up owing a couple hundred dollars to federal taxes because my employer somehow ended up not taking enough money out for the year.

Allowances are surely annual though? Over the year you should get money back? I know back just before I crossed the marginal rate in the UK, I got a bonus paid in the first month of the financial year that made it appear that I had an annual salary 3 times my actual rate. Over the next few months, the tax was dripped back to me on a PAYE basis; if filing annually, all of this tax would have been refunded.

[SM9WI8oI]

Allowances are surely annual though? Over the year you should get money back?

Yeah, you'll get that money back, but not until the end of the year. I don't think our income tax taken out is adjusted over time, it's purely on a per-pay-period basis, if you know what I mean. So if you only have 1 paycheck in a year where you made say, double your wages from overtime, you'll have a lot more taxes taken out of that single paycheck, but any paychecks after that where you got your normal wages isn't any different, at least AFAIK. It's all rather annoying though, because when you put in the overtime, sometimes it seems like you're not really getting much more money (and in some cases even less.)

[mylittlejewelaa]

It's all rather annoying though, because when you put in the overtime, sometimes it seems like you're not really getting much more money (and in some cases even less.)

This is the bit I don't understand. Since taxation is marginal, how do you end up with less money by working longer hours?

[SM9WI8oI]

This is the bit I don't understand. Since taxation is marginal, how do you end up with less money by working longer hours?

Well, the best way I can think to explain it is this. You still gross more money overall, but there's a point where there is a higher percentage of income tax taken out of your paycheck if you reach certain points. I don't know what the percentages are but it can be a huge difference. And the way it works here is that the more money you make, the higher percentage of income tax you get charged.

There's quite a few people I know that I've worked with that even had it figured out how much overtime they could get before they passed the threshold. Say, for instance, I know I can get 15 hours of overtime, and any more than that will cause a higher percentage of tax to be taken out. I'd actually be taking home less money working 16-20 hours of overtime than what I would get working 15 hours of overtime. Yes you would get it back at the end of the year when you filed your taxes.

But imagine if your regular wages were just below one of these thresholds. ANY overtime you get would cause you to bring home less, until you actually got enough overtime to make up for the higher percentage taken out.

[Stivenslivakovishhhs]

Any income above the threshold is taxed higher, the rest is taxed with the lower rate.

[SM9WI8oI]

Any income above the threshold is taxed higher, the rest is taxed with the lower rate.

Basically, yes, but only as far as figuring out your taxes at the end of the year. Paycheck to paycheck deductions work with that in mind too, but it's a little goofy too...