<prompt> Human: I was under the assumption that taxes were withheld at your hourly rate, but come tax season they take into consideration your total income and refund you based on that. Federal tax withheld 1583, State tax 552, Social Security 994. I was making a decent amount of money over the summer hence why they took so much money, but I thought since my total salary was below certain levels the withheld money would be returned? I filled out HR Blocks free tax form and it says I only get back 589. Why is this? Is there a better way to do my taxes to ensure my wages back? Thank you!!  <response>: Youre thinking about a few things incorrectly. The US tax system is marginal That means that the first 10,000 are taxed at 10. The next 27,000 are taxed at 15. The next 54,000 are taxed at 25. Its slightly more complex than that, but thats the basis. Social security taxes are not refunded. Well, they are, but thats when you retire. Income tax paid - tax burden tax refund do the calculation twice, once for state and once for federal. In this case, you paid 1583 federal income taxes and owed 1031, so they give you 552 back.I thought since my total salary was below certain levels the withheld money would be returnedThat can happen, but the number is well below 16,000 yr. If you had more deductions, you might get more back because your owed taxes would be lower.You can use TurboTax to fill out your taxes and see if they give you the same number. You dont have to pay them until you actually file. 