W4 withholding for married filing jointly

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
May 29, 2024
3 replies
17 views

My wife and I both have "0" for allowances on our W4s. She tends to make about 2/3 more than I do annually after bonuses. Every year when I enter her W2 information, we start out with a refund, but when I enter my W2, we end up owing a good amount.

If we are trying to either owe as little as possible each year (or get a refund), do I need to have additional taxes withheld on my W4 and if so, what is the best way to go about figuring out how much that is?

Ask the Experts - W-4 II - May 2024

VolvoGirl

Level 15

When i was working and married i claimed Single on the W4 to have more taken out and even had extra taken out. Or you can send in estimated payments.

Here are the blank Estimates and instructions (the actual 1040ES forms are at the very bottom so scroll way down)

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf

Or you can pay directly on the IRS website https://www.irs.gov/payments

Be sure to pick the right kind of payment and year.....2024 Estimate

TeriH

Level 6

TurboTax has an easy to use W-4 withholding calculator, see link.

You will need to gather documentation such as paystubs, previous tax return, invoices, etd. Then follow the prompts to fill out the withholding calculator. and lastly you will fill out your W-4 to turn into your employer.
Same goes for all sources of income.

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mhinojosa9

Employee Tax Expert

Hello! Each of you should complete Steps 1 of the W4 and check the Married Filing Jointly box. The person with the highest paying job, your wife in this case, should complete Steps 2-4. Since you each only have one job, your wife should check the box in Step 2c and then proceed to Steps 3-4.

Since we are halfway through the year, I recommend using this tax calculator to estimate how much you may owe and then comparing that to your withholdings after you adjust your W4. If it looks like you may owe, you can make an additional payment directly to the IRS or divide that amount by the number of pay periods and include that in one or both your W4s in Step 4c.

Thank you for reaching out!

Michael, CPA