How to file on my work form as married or single?

Question

I would like to know how would be best for me to file on my w4 form,since im having to pay taxes the last 3 years.
Im married and the last 3 years ihave been filling as married,but filling my taxes seperate,my accountant told me thats the reason i have to pay each year instead of getting some money back.
Right now i owe around $4000 in back taxes for the last 3 years,my accountant told me to file as single and file separate at the end of the year to get money back.
does anyone know if this is true or not?please help!

Answer 1

Your accoutant is correct, Claim 0 deductions and they will take out more during the year. Then when you file you claim the deduction for yourself and your wife. Since the tables are different for each income catagory and filing status you will in most cases get money back. Exceptions to this would be addtitional income or other circumstances that would increase your net worth. To determine the validity of this go to www.irs.gov. in the upper right hand is a search bar. Type in tax tables. then click on the answer when they load.

Once you have found the tables take your income let us say 25,000 and determine your taxes as single. Take your wifes income and do the same. Add the total and that is the tax due before any deductions and or adjustments, for single tax payer. Look at the column headings across the top and you find find married filing separate and married. Do the same thing for each column, you will soon find out that married filing separate is the least expensive tax bill.

Remember that it is better to have the correct amount of taxes taken out each week. This allows you to bank or spend the income. Getting a big check at the end of the year, while it is nice, is giving our money to the govt interest free for a whole year. If you do the next step and have to pay something it will probably be a lot less and you would have the cash in the savings to do that plus the interest you have earned. With out know your personal information, like salary, deductions, exemptions etc. it is difficult to determine what the weekly pay should be. I know that in my personal circumstance I pay an additional $5.00 per week to cover this and it works great for me.

The best way to do this is determine what you should pay each week and then file correctly. Since less will be taken out of your check bank that amount and earn the interest on it. Good Luck

Answer 2

Well, in order to file married, you will have to put your ex's SSN on the form and forge their signature. Unfortunately, your ex will also file using the same SSN except they will file single. The IRS computer looks for these blaring discrepancies and will kick your return out for audit almost guaranteed. Your choice but I'll bet the fines and penalties are going to make a bigger impact than anything you might gain by falsifying your return.

Answer 3

You should claim "0" on your W-4, I am surprised IRS hasn't send you a letter or called your employer to have it changed to "0". claiming 0 more money will be taken out of your pay check a smaller take home pay at pay day but it is better to have a refund at the time you file your tax return. I wouldn't like to owe the IRS with the high interest and penalties added on.

Answer 4

I assume you have a good reason for filing separately rather than filing a joint return. It almost always costs you extra in taxes - sometimes just a few dollars, sometimes much more.