On Tax Returns- does the government see how many allowances you had or only if your married & how much income?

Answer 1

Mark S is partially correct. The IRS once required companies to submit any W-4 that claimed 10 or more allowances. Under current rules, no routine reporting of W-4s is required. The IRS can still request copies of anyone's W-4. They can also require withholding more than the W-4 states. This usually only happens if you have significant under-withholding 2 in or more years.

Note: the number of allowances on your W-4 should reflect ALL the deductions you expect to claim on your tax return, not just dependents.

Answer 2

Your tax return doesn't show anything about what you had on your W-4. It shows of course your actual marital status, dependents, and deductions.

If you don't have close to enough paid in when you file your return, you might be subject to penalties for under-withholding. That's really the only connection between your W-4 and your return.

Answer 3

It used to be that companies sometimes had to mail copies of W-4s to IRS.

The IRS can still request copies of W-4s if the person is frequently under withheld on federal taxes. They can also force a company to withhold a certain amount.