Hello @rdwill657
Great question and this is very common when a married couple has more than one W-2 Each W-4 does not know how much the tax bracket increases with two incomes, so we often see amounts owed to the IRS at the end of the year. Here are a few tips to help prevent that!
- First use our W-4 Tool: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/ The new W-4 is different so you may just need to update both your W-4's. This tool will let you know how to fill it out to get the proper withholdings.
- Next check up on your withholds to make sure enough is being withheld so far this year. TaxCaster: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/ This is an awesome tool that will project if you will owe the IRS based on your current withholding. Although we are almost into June there is still time to make adjustments!
If you think you may owe, one option is to adjust the W-4 by having additional money taken out to cover the amount as well as get you on track moving forward. You can adjust both or just one W-4. The IRS does not have a preference how you pay during the year.
I also wanted to mention that Married Filing Joint usually is the best filing status for the majority of tax payers. You can also see the result of filing separate in TaxCaster! There are some credits and deduction that are lost when you file Separate. Here is an article for that topic as well: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/marriage/should-you-and-your-spouse-file-taxes-jointly-or-separ....
With this information you both can decide what works for you. Wishing you best of luck!
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
