Federal withholding

[blondie0925]

I filed my 2022 taxes jointly with my spouse who I married in Sept. 2021. I checked the box in my W-4 selected as "married filing jointly" after that event. We were doing our 2022 taxes and were shocked to see how little the amount withheld for Federal was compared to 2021. We have 0 exemptions and so the maximum has always been taken out, therefore we have always received a return. We have never owed in prior years but were royally screwed this go around. We would like to know how to avoid this in the future. I have tried talking with my employers HR and they will only tell me that it's due to being married. Any guidance is appreciated, thank you! 

[Holly W]

Hello there, 

I'm sorry to hear that you had an unpleasant surprise when filing your taxes.   There are a couple of things that may have caused the balance due.   When you file married filing joint, your income is combined to come up with your taxable income.   Depending on your income before you were married, you may have qualified for certain credits or deductions that may not be applicable now, and with the combined income, you may be in a different tax bracket then you were before.  When you check the box for Married Filing Joint, they will withhold at at a lower tax rate.   I would definitely take a few minutes to use the Tax Caster to see where your tax return might end up looking like so you have time to make adjustments now versus later.  If you find that there isn't enough withholding, you can elect to have an additional withholding on line 4(c) of the Form W-4 https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf .

Here is the link for the Tax Caster:  https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/ 
Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[Jody T]

I am sorry you owed taxes in 2022, if enough money was not withheld from your income then you need to find a flat dollar amount and have it taken out of each check.  If you get 26 checks a year and owed 1,000.00 figure out how many more checks left this year and fill out a w-4 married, however take an extra $ amount to make up for it through the end of the year.  With our Taxcaster https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/taxcaster/   tool you should be able to see with filling in the information how much will be due and if you are on track.  Good thinking about it now while you still have months to catch up so you won't owe this year.

Thank you

Jody T

[SusanC6]

Hi @blondie0925 

The IRS made significant changes to the W-4 form in 2020 to correspond with changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017.  Form W-4 changed because the TCJA removed personal exemptions, increased the Standard Deduction, and made the Child Tax Credit available to more people.

If you work multiple jobs at the same time or are Married Filing Jointly and both you and your spouse are employed, you should fill out a new Form W-4 for each job.

When completing the W-4 after your marriage, did you complete Step 2, Multiple Jobs or Spouse Works?

It is important to complete that section as withholding is based on total household income and not just your wages.  

Below are a few links that I hope you will find helpful.

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

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/irs-tax-forms/the-w-4-form-changed-in-major-ways-heres-whats-di...

[blondie0925]

Thank you sfor your kindness and response. I have already added on an extra amount withheld from each check so that we will hopefully be even or over the amount we would owe. I just don't understand how checking 1 little box would make such a big impact on the amount the government withholds. It doesn't seem right to me that I claim 0 exemptions, therefore the maximum amount should be withheld, and then somehow that isn't enough. I feel it's silly to have to calculate how much MORE needs to be taken out of my already dwindled paycheck because the government doesn't just calculate that better and take what they need.  

This is very much a learning moment because I had no idea how much one could be screwed by the government when doing nothing at all except get married. This is why taxes should be taught in schools. 

[kfenwick]

Your HR department is correct in that the withholding tables for Married Filing Joint Return will be less than the withholding for Single or Married Filing Separately.  Assuming you have no other income than your W2 wages, you have a couple of options.  You can update your W4 and select the "Single" or "Married Filing Separately" filing status to increase the amount withheld.  You can also leave the filing status as "Married Filing Joint" but indicate an additional amount to withhold on Line 4c.
If you had a balance of tax due with your 2022 tax return, you can divide the balance due with that return by the remaining pay periods in 2023 to have that amount withheld by the end of the year.  
Be sure to change your W-4 again in 2024 to reflect the correct amount per pay period going forward.