I just got married we have 2 children. We will not be changing our w4 this year but need to know what to claim next year. We make around 60,000 a year combined.

[cortneymcdonald2]

We would like to get the most out of our checks throughout the year but would also like a decent refund come tax time. I usually get around 7000 back at tax time because I have always claimed single with 2 dependants.

[SweetieJean · Accepted solution]

We would like to get the most out of our checks throughout the year but would also like a decent refund come tax time.

These are conflicting goals, and getting a big refund means giving the IRS an interest free loan all year.  Also see this:

http://taxfoundation.org/article/understanding-marriage-penalty-and-marriage-bonus

[Hal_Al]

You may be in for a rude shock. The  marriage penalty to you is unlikely to be offset by the marriage bonus to your spouse. Try this tool to get a peek at your 2016 tax results. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/?s=1">https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-to...>

[SweetieJean]

and Married Filing Separately won't help!

[SweetieJean]

Try this tool:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/