So I'm pretty young and don't completely understand how I should be handling my taxes. I've been burned year over year recently by being a contractor and have recently started to pay attention closely to my tax filings so as not to make mistakes, but something happened recently and I'm not sure what's correct. So here's the situation:
I live in Rhode Island and work in Massachusetts. I got married in the beginning of 2014. I was with my employer since the previous year and never updated my marital status. It is now 2015. I just changed jobs and had to fill out all of my paperwork. When I received my first paycheck I compared the details to my previous check.
Previous Checks
Taxable Marital Status: Single
Exemptions/Allowances
Federal 1
MA 1
Current Check
Taxable Marital Status: Married
Exemptions/Allowances
Federal 1
MA 1
RI 1
This worries me because I noticed that, for a similar amount of gross income, my federal tax amount is significantly lower on my new checks than my previous checks. Additionally, on neither check do I see a deduction for RI State Income Tax, although there is one for MA State Income Tax.
So my question is: am I right to be worried? Did I fill out something wrong? Or are my current checks correct and, because I didn't update my marital status, I was missing out on money earlier this year in my checks? Essentially, what boat am I in now and how, if I need to, do I fix any mistakes I've made.
I really appreciate any help you can provide me with.