KrisD15
Expert Alumni

Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Step 2 is beneficial if one of you earns twice as much as the other. 

If that is the case, the spouse with the higher income fills out W-4 using Step 2 and gives it to their employer.

 

You are correct that Step 2 (since it is trying to be most accurate) also takes deductions and credits into account (in Step 3 and 4), which could indicate a LOWER withholding. 

 

Claiming 0 and Single for the higher paid spouse would result in more tax withheld if they claimed Married Filing Jointly for 2024.  

You can also adjust by entering "Extra withholding" in Step 4 line 4c if circumstance's will be the same for 2025 and you know how much more you need to what to withhold. Remember that it would be an amount per pay period.

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