That&#x27;s not how tax brackets work, but it is how some brain-dead payroll systems work! I have seen first hand a broken payroll system that simply extrapolates the current pay period out into the full calendar year and then deducts taxes at that rate. This has the result of a small gross increase (usually due to intermittent overtime pay) resulting in a net decrease in pay for that pay period. This is very much an edge condition of an already broken model, but I have definitely seen it happen.