i suppose you want to risk going to jail for perjury. the w-4 is signed under penalty of perjury. you can't fudge exemptions on the w-4 because there are none but you can fudge other items to reduce withholding. there are no exemptions on the current w-4 because under the current tax laws exemptions are gone. but you can file form 8379 innocent spouse allocation form with your income tax return. that should prevent any refund from being taken to pay your wife's debt. also, proper completion of a new w-4 with the married filing jointly box checked should not result in excess withholding since you are the only one with income
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