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Recently married and very confused about how to adjust our form W-4s.
We will likely make around 150-185k this year depending on bonuses.
To me, it seems like the most simplest thing to do would be to choose the "married but with at higher single rate"
I think that should cover us from paying too little tax on both of our incomes, can anyone confirm?
We initially tried to use the provided calculator but now that we see a few pay stubs, if you take the taxes paid amount divided by federal income tax taxable amount, the rate it is 35%. Going by the tax tables, we should not be paying more than 24% in either single or married brackets.
Can any other married couples, both working, comment on what you do?
Claim as little as you possibly can.
You will pay higher tax upfront, but will have much less hassle with filing income tax. If you file all you should, of course.
Otherwise, you will underpay tax and then will have to work against a large number you will owe, and this can be very slippery route.
Literally, claim ZERO. Get refund when you file tax return. Until you get children, of course. Then you will have legit descendants.
I am, actually, in about same income situation. 20-30K more. So I sort of know how go sit. It is very tempting for young couple to claim a bunch on W2, resulting in higher paycheck, as you have less tax withdrawn. But! April come, it'll bite you.
I'm fine with claiming 0. However there is the choice to file single, married joint, or married but withhold at higher single rate.
I'm wondering if that last choice will cover us without having to fill out the "2 earners" sheet for withholding even extra. As there is a line on the W4 if you want to withhold extra.
Recently married and very confused about how to adjust our form W-4s.
We will likely make around 150-185k this year depending on bonuses.
To me, it seems like the most simplest thing to do would be to choose the "married but with at higher single rate"
I think that should cover us from paying too little tax on both of our incomes, can anyone confirm?
We initially tried to use the provided calculator but now that we see a few pay stubs, if you take the taxes paid amount divided by federal income tax taxable amount, the rate it is 35%. Going by the tax tables, we should not be paying more than 24% in either single or married brackets.
Can any other married couples, both working, comment on what you do?
[EDIT] Just re-formatted my response.
For my case, I have been doing 'Joint'. This makes our combined income as well as taxable income (post 401k, insurance, etc etc), at 24% eitherway.
Even with previous years' tax rates, I only did Joint. I have always gotten a refund all years (although state / city vary). My take is that - whichever way you slice it, it will balance out at the end of the year when filing taxes, so why the concern? YMMV.
Recently married and very confused about how to adjust our form W-4s.
We will likely make around 150-185k this year depending on bonuses.
To me, it seems like the most simplest thing to do would be to choose the "married but with at higher single rate"
I think that should cover us from paying too little tax on both of our incomes, can anyone confirm?
We initially tried to use the provided calculator but now that we see a few pay stubs, if you take the taxes paid amount divided by federal income tax taxable amount, the rate it is 35%. Going by the tax tables, we should not be paying more than 24% in either single or married brackets.
Can any other married couples, both working, comment on what you do?
Congrats on the marriage. My wife and I are in a similar boat - we average around $165-185k per year and we do married but withhold at higher single rate. Because my wife owns a business and we don't own a home and just take the standard deduction, this works out where we're only paying additional tax on the profit of her business - and would be break even otherwise.
You can also consult a CPA for your specific situation - the ideal is to take out just enough taxes where you owe, but just barely more than $0 or as close to that as you can get, and you can get there with a combination of the relationship statement plus additional specific withholding amounts based on your projected income for the year.
Recently married and very confused about how to adjust our form W-4s.
We will likely make around 150-185k this year depending on bonuses.
To me, it seems like the most simplest thing to do would be to choose the "married but with at higher single rate"
I think that should cover us from paying too little tax on both of our incomes, can anyone confirm?
We initially tried to use the provided calculator but now that we see a few pay stubs, if you take the taxes paid amount divided by federal income tax taxable amount, the rate it is 35%. Going by the tax tables, we should not be paying more than 24% in either single or married brackets.
Can any other married couples, both working, comment on what you do?
Here is my suggestion...
First estimate your tax liability for the year. I like TaxCaster. The iPad app is free and very convenient, IMO.
Second, figure out how to set your withholdings to have the correct amount withheld. You can do this by either using various calculators that are available (I've used paycheckcity.com in the past), or just by trial and error. You can really specify any amount, by selecting the number of exemptions plus an additional dollar amount per paycheck.
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