You generally do not “get taxes back” by default; you get a refund only when what you paid in during the year is more than what you actually owe, often because of withholding and refundable credits on your tax return.

Below is a simple breakdown so “which taxes do I get back?” starts to make sense.

Core idea: refunds vs. taxes

  • A tax refund happens when your employer or you paid too much income tax during the year (through paycheck withholding or estimated payments). The government gives the extra back via your refund.
  • You don’t usually get back Social Security or Medicare payroll taxes ; those fund your future benefits and health coverage, not a yearly refund pool.

Taxes you might get back

What you can actually see “come back” at filing time usually involves federal (and sometimes state) income tax , not every tax taken from your paycheck.

  • Over-withheld federal income tax
    • If your W‑4 was set up so your employer took out more income tax than needed, your return calculates the real bill and sends back the extra as a refund.
  • Over-withheld state income tax
    • Same deal at the state level (if your state has income tax): pay in too much → state refund.
  • Refundable tax credits – these can give you money even if you don’t owe tax:
* **Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)** for low‑ to moderate‑income workers.
* **Additional Child Tax Credit** (refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit).
* **Part of the American Opportunity Tax Credit** for college costs (up to a capped refundable amount).
* **Premium Tax Credit** for health insurance bought on the marketplace (if the final credit is bigger than what was already used to cut your premiums).

In these cases, your “refund” is coming from income tax and credits , not from things like Social Security tax.

Taxes you usually don’t get back

These normally stay paid and are not refunded at tax time:

  • Social Security tax from your paycheck.
  • Medicare tax from your paycheck.
  • Sales tax you pay when you buy things.
  • Property tax (though you might get a deduction in some systems, which lowers taxable income, not a direct refund of the tax itself).

There are narrow exceptions (for example, when one employer over-withholds Social Security because you changed jobs mid‑year and together they took more than the annual limit, the extra can be refunded via your return), but that’s a technical edge case.

Quick table: what can come back?

[9] [4] [3][1][5][7][9] [2] [5]
Type of tax/amount Can it turn into a refund? How it might come back
Federal income tax withheld Yes, if you paid in too much Refund on your federal return when tax owed < tax paid in
State income tax withheld Yes, if you paid in too much Refund on your state return
Refundable credits (EITC, refundable Child Tax Credit, part of AOTC, Premium Tax Credit) Yes Paid out as part of your refund, even if your tax owed is low or zero
Social Security & Medicare payroll tax Generally no Count toward future benefits/coverage, not yearly refunds
Sales tax, property tax No direct refund May affect deductions/credits in some systems, but usually not paid back in cash

How this plays out for you

In practice, which taxes you get back depends on:

  1. Where you live (U.S., U.K., etc., and whether your region has state/provincial tax).
  1. Your income type (employee vs self‑employed, side gigs, etc.).
  1. Whether you qualify for refundable credits (kids, income level, college costs, health insurance credits).

If you share:

  • your country,
  • whether you’re a regular employee or self‑employed, and
  • if you have kids/education expenses/marketplace health insurance,

a more tailored list of “what you personally can get back” can be laid out.