How to fill paychecks? Married or single

[MonaRoshdi]

Hi , I have a question about filling paycheck  form to withdraw monthly  tax. Me and my husband both employed with the same range of salary,and by filling paychecks as married filing jointly, we needed to pay extra $13k at end of year 2022. Should we fill the paycheck as married filing separately or single? And in this way are we eligible to file tax with married filing jointly at the end?

Thanks,

Mona

[rjs]

Use the Tax Withholding Estimator on the IRS web site to figure out what you and your husband should each put on the W-4 forms that you give to your employers. It will show you how to adjust your withholding to get the approximate refund amount that you want.

You can file your tax return as married filing jointly, no matter what status you select on your W-4.

[Opus 17]

The best way to figure it out is to use the IRS calculator or follow all the instructions and worksheets on the W-4, not just the front page.  You do one calculation to set the withholding for both spouses.

Assuming your income, deductions, credits and dependents will be similar for 2023, you could also just arrange to have an extra $13,000 withheld from one or both paychecks (using form W-4 box 4C).  Assuming that request could take effect with your employer on May 1, you would need to have an extra $1625 withheld per month from one job  ($1625 per month, or $813 per check if paid semi-monthly, or $684 per check if paid bi-weekly, or $342 per check if paid weekly).  You could lower that amount on 1/1/24 since you would be spreading the $13K out over 12 months instead of 8 months.   I suspect the IRS calculator will come up with a similar answer. 

[MonaRoshdi]

Thank you very much for the detailed response 🙏🏻