So after doing my taxes this year I have discovered that for the first time in my life I actually owe the IRS money. I know that I messed up my W-4 when I got married.
How many deductions should I use on my W-4 if I am married and have one kid? And make sure that the IRS getting enough so that at least I get a small refund next year?
2007-02-01 03:18:39 · 4 answers · asked by Chris M 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
The answer to this question depends whether your wife also works or not. The problem is that the stupid W4 was created many years ago when only husbands worked, so all the payroll taxe deduction formulas used to calculate your paycheck still assume the same. The total you two can claim is 1 standard deduction + 3 personal exemptions. So, if you put Married 3 on your W4 that's ALL of those deductions, so then if your wife puts Married at work, she basically takes standard deduction again, thus underpaying on taxes. To avoid this situation I recommend the following: Assuming both of you work and make about the same amount of money, one of you can put Married 0, and another Single 0 or Single 1 at most. If you put Single on W4 you are not in trouble. If one of you makes much more money than the other, that's the person that should claim Single 0. This way you will probably slightly overpay on taxes this year. If at the end of the year you get too much refund, then you may want to adjust the deductions slightly.
2007-02-01 03:42:47 · answer #1 · answered by Alexander K 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
redvelvetflame's rant is totally uncalled for on this question - especially since she is flat out wrong with her answer. If you make $2000 from a job, and that's your only income for the year, you are exempt for federal taxes. Period. $2000 is far below the limit where you'd be taxed. For 2006 that limit was $5150 for a dependent - for 2007 it's a little higher. And being a high school student, college student, or neither doesn't matter - it's how much you make that decides whether you are exempt. Depending on where you live, you might or might not have state or local tax liability. And of course you'll also have 7.65% deductioned for social security and medicare.
2016-03-28 23:48:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you indicate 0 exemptions they will take out the max. You can even indicate single and they will take out more.
This is different than filing "single" on your return - you can't do that when you are married (in spite of the wrong statement made numerous times).
2007-02-01 03:32:16 · answer #3 · answered by Dizney 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
claim 0 on w-4 if you refund and claim 2 when you file 1040
2007-02-01 03:27:42 · answer #4 · answered by jean 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋