Some individuals pay all or part of their income tax directly to the government.
But many taxpayers pay most of their tax indirectly. Those who work for a salary or wages have a withholding tax collected from each paycheck. This agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury is responsible for collecting federal internal revenue taxes. Each year, taxpayers fill out a tax return. They state how much taxable income they received during the previous year and how much they have already paid in withholding tax.