<prompt> Human: Hello all; Throw-away here.I am leaving my position that I have held for 2.5 years in San Francisco. I absolutely love my company, and am planning on returning in the future once I am done chasing some dreams. I have been with the company since it opened its office in the bay area and as such I have had a wild ride. Due to the way in which we grew, I wound up accruing a few hundred hours of over time. Before my departure I met with our HR personnel and came to an agreement of 15,700 compensation for this time. I was wondering what the tax-burden would be on this payment because it looks like they withheld 50 7000 for taxes. I am looking at about 40,000 this year with the time that I am taking off. This number includes the OT payment.I dont want to sour a relationship with a wonderful employer, but I am pretty sure that withholding 50 is a tad excessive in this case. I will be traveling with no income until October, and this money could be really useful.Thoughts?  <response>: Your overtime is not taxed any differently than your normal income, but may be withheld differently. You dont net less by earning more. See the wiki entry on taxes and taxes withheld vs. actual tax burden You can also use the IRS Withholding Calculator to adjust your withholding as necessary to match your actual tax burden. 