Can a married couple who files jointly each claim all their dependents? My husband and I have 4 children. I'm wondering if we can EACH claim all 4?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
June 9, 2021
3 replies
3 views

Like on my W4 I claim 4 and on his W4 he claims 4, is that possible or should I claim 2 and he claims 2?

TurboTax Deluxe Online

Best answer by pk_

@urban_04@hotmail , the purpose of the W-4 "claiming" is to make sure that your tax withholdings are generally adequate i.e. when you file your return you do not owe and perhaps even get a refund. Since you have four children, if you each "claim" four , the withholdings are likely to be reduced such that at the during the year you have more money but when you file your return you may be under withheld and therefore owe tax ( and may be interest & penalty for owing more than allowed ). So I would suggest that (a) each of you claim ONLY two if your earnings are about the same ( for each spouse ) or (b) claim 2 or 3 for the spouse with substantially lower earnings let the higher earner get a higher withholding --- this way you will be likely over-withheld and ensure a small refund. Of course , you can run TurboTax with these suggestion and see which one gets you the best tax and cash flow situation.

Does this help or can I do more for you ?

VolvoGirl

Level 15

You can each claim whatever you want. Your W4 doesn't have to match your actual tax return. The W4 is just to tell your employer how much withholding to take out. Only you know how much tax you need to cover. But if you both have income you pay a higher tax on your combined income so you may need to have more tax withholding taken out of your pay. That means you need to claim less allowances on the W4.

P

pk_

Answer

Level 15

@urban_04@hotmail , the purpose of the W-4 "claiming" is to make sure that your tax withholdings are generally adequate i.e. when you file your return you do not owe and perhaps even get a refund. Since you have four children, if you each "claim" four , the withholdings are likely to be reduced such that at the during the year you have more money but when you file your return you may be under withheld and therefore owe tax ( and may be interest & penalty for owing more than allowed ). So I would suggest that (a) each of you claim ONLY two if your earnings are about the same ( for each spouse ) or (b) claim 2 or 3 for the spouse with substantially lower earnings let the higher earner get a higher withholding --- this way you will be likely over-withheld and ensure a small refund. Of course , you can run TurboTax with these suggestion and see which one gets you the best tax and cash flow situation.

Does this help or can I do more for you ?