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 ?
