Recently married

[peenda]

I recently got married, and we're trying to get our taxes to be as close to $0 when we file our taxes next year. When we use the IRS calculator to estimate taxes, it had said we would be getting $1,800 back as of now. How do we make it so our employers take less taxes from our paychecks so we don't end up getting a big refund? My salary is $55,000, my husband's is $60,030. I have a per diem job making $17/hour and I work about 10-20 hours a month. We live in CT.

[KimberW]

The very last step in the IRS calculator provides information for new W-4s for both jobs -- with the assumption that you want to end the year with no refund and no balance due.

I made up some numbers and entered them into the calculator. The refund amount that it estimated I would get if I didn't change anything at all was $885. (The estimated tax liability was $54,515 and my fictional people were on track to have withholdings of $55,400.)

But, by making the changes recommended in the two W-2s below (one for each job), my fictional people would be on track to have $54,515 withheld -- resulting in an even-dollar return.

Go back to the IRS calculator, and -- on the Step 6 screen -- click on the link to Edit Your Information

Then, scroll to the bottom -- you should see a summary of what your tax withholdings would be with and without changes to your W-4s.