DISQUS

Smithee · 1 year ago

I should also point out that if you have children, or other dependents, things change dramatically.

savvy · 1 year ago

I've never gotten a great answer from either the W-4 worksheet or the IRS calculator. So I just created my own spreadsheet that shows the dollar amount I need to have withheld and then I played around with Paycheck City until I got our withholdings to match that amount.

John Newman · 1 year ago

I have a spouse, a son, and a mortgage. My wife and I both claim 0 dependents and that we want tax withheld at the higher single rate. Some years we're still under withheld.

Jeremy · 1 year ago

I ran into the same problem when I got married. Our finances weren't complicated, so we just did what the form basically said without thinking much about it. Well, when we did our taxes it was quite a shock when we saw the bill.

ntguru · 1 year ago

I could be wrong but I think the core W-4 issue with two working spouses filling jointly is that your marginal rate probably goes up due to the two (or more) incomes together but the W-4 doesn't account for this.

Kevin · 1 year ago

Same thing happened to us -- we owed $500 this year, but somehow got $380 back from the state. Worked out nicely, but my wife didn't start work until August.

We actually just filled out a new form last night for her to send in to make sure we get things corrected. We're going with 1 on me, 0 on her. We'll see.

I did use that IRS calculator at one point, I'm guessing they take it down for tax season?

Aryn · 1 year ago

We had the same thing happen. In past years, we hadn't earned enough for it to matter (both grad students), but last year with two decent incomes, we realized in October that we were majorly underwithheld. So we ended up having almost entire paycheck and sizable chunk of his withheld in December to make up for it.

They said they got rid of the marriage penalty, but if you don't have kids and you both work, you actually end up paying a big penalty!

PT · 1 year ago

Smithee, you are my hero. This could not have come at a better time. Actually, it could have...we're paying $3500 in taxes this year because we goofed this up. I'm off to fix accordingly. Thanks again!

PK · 1 year ago

@ Aryn
There is no marriage penalty unless you both are making 6 figures.
@ John Newman
You must also be making a lot of other earned income like interest and dividends and such to still be paying in after itemizing all that stuff.

I've been trying to find a good way to tackle this question and still have not come up with anything good.

I get married this year and figure we'll try having a ton withheld and then just throttle back after that (or adjust withholdings once our liability is met).

Josh · 1 year ago

Is this issue even more pronounced when one makes a lot more/less than their spouse?

I made ~90k in 2007 and my wife 10k. She only paid $250 in federal taxes! I have no idea why. She filled out her W4 with a 1 and that's it. We owe something like 1.5k this year when I thought we'd be getting some back like I have always done (when I was single). :(

Tom · 1 year ago

You would figure the government would make these forms dummy proof so that they could get your money easier ;)

I've always found these forms to be so darn complicated. I guess that's why I let someone else do it now, haha.

shadox · 1 year ago

Calculator still out...

Mike · 1 year ago

No one likes surprises, of course, but unless you end up with a penalty, you've done well to owe money on April 15th instead of getting it back.

But I agree that government forms are ridiculously complicated. Be glad you're not dealing with form 2525 and 1116.

Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck · 1 year ago

To clear up some previous comments: The number you put on line 5 of your W4 is then input in your employer's payroll system, which spits out a withholding amount based on your payment frequency and gross pay. That's it. What your spouse may earn or withhold is not considered in the amount withheld from your paycheck.

This reality, combined with the fact that--especially if both spouses make roughly equivalent incomes--your marginal income tax rate will likely go up, can put a dent in the whole "I got married" bliss.

Of course, financially speaking, you're better off owing than getting a refund, as long as you're prepared.

The IRS itself says that most people will find their (not accessible) calculator easier to use than Form W4. I have a calculator at my website that can help you with your withholding calculations. It's a simpler version than the IRS's to be sure, which means it won't work for those with less common cases (like AMT) but it's also a heck of a lot easier to use.

F2O · 1 year ago

I just got married in 9/07 and ended up doing this correctly by accident. Knowing that we were going to be married during the year, I did the math (used the IRS calculator), changed my status to married and adgusted my witholding to 2 in January '07. I then asked my future wife to do the same, except she never did it. I didn't realise she forgot until the begining of December, and just figured that we would get a little bit of a refund - No big deal. Imagine my surprise when I get through the process and Taxcut tells me that we underpaid by $104. I stopped there to investigate, so I'm still not sure how this will pan out with the State, but I couldn't be happier with the Federal results. If she had done what I asked her to do over a year ago, we would have been hit with a much larger tax bill than anticipated.

CAUTHON · 1 year ago

Now that we are supposed to get back some money via the IRS, but it's going to take forever to get here, why not change my w-4 so there is a lot less withheld, and get the money that way?