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nbny90 OP t1_j6lldl4 wrote

Reply to comment by Mysunsai in FreeTaxUSA Says I Owe $3K in federal taxes. I NEVER owe & always get a refund. Please HELP! by nbny90

My wife files a Married filing jointly as well. However, she claim's 1 dependent.

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Mysunsai t1_j6llqib wrote

Are you saying you only put married filing jointly, and did not fill out the multiple job worksheet in step 2?

Then that’s your problem. You guys have 2 jobs and failed to inform your employers to withhold as such.

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nbny90 OP t1_j6lm2v1 wrote

I wasn't aware I had to do this. We've had two jobs since December of 2020 but this multiple job step 2 stuff you're bringing up is new to me. Could you please clarify?

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Mysunsai t1_j6ln6ht wrote

Just read the instructions for the W4.

If you put married filing jointly, your employer withholds as if you have $25k standard deduction, $20k at 10%, $60k at 12%, etc. Which is correct, those are the tax brackets for married filing jointly.

But if you have multiple jobs (eg both you and your wife work), then combined between your jobs your withholding looks like you have $50k of standard deduction, $40k at 10%, etc. So you massively underwithhold.

The solution is to follow the instructions in step 2 for multiple jobs. (Or alternatively, you could both select single instead of married filing jointly).

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nbny90 OP t1_j6lnu2r wrote

Follow up questions...

  1. Can we change status back to "single", even though we're married?
  2. When filing taxes next year, do I enter our filing status as "single"? Or "married, filing jointly"?

Thank you so so much for making this easy for me to understand.

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Ghost_of_JFK t1_j6lojtm wrote

You can change your W-4 to single to increase your withholding. Doesn’t matter if you are married or not. This is basically just a way to tell your employer what to withhold.

When filing taxes you will still go with married, filing jointly (or married filing separately in rare cases).

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scherster t1_j6mp4ju wrote

You can also just add an amount to be withheld from each check. I think that's easier than messing around with entries on the W4.

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BouncyEgg t1_j6llkij wrote

> However, she claim's 1 dependent.

"Claiming" things is no longer a thing and hasn't been for a few years. Update your W4. If your employer still has exemptions listed as an option, it's very very very behind the times.

If you haven't updated your W4 in a few years, both of you should update it.

And pay attention to Step II of the new W4.

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nbny90 OP t1_j6lm735 wrote

FML. My employer didn't explain this, but I should've been more on top of this as well. Thank you and will be doing this ASAP.

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