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Filing jointly (MFJ), both my husband's W2's (part-time jobs) have zero (0) Federal taxes deducted?

Right now I'm planning to file married-jointly.  On my taxes, my W2 is fine, I made 178k.  My husband worked two different part-time jobs, and each job paid 15k.  Both of his W2's show no federal income deductions.  I know there are several reasons those two companies could be correctly generating both of his two different jobs with no reported federal income deducted.

1) Could that lead to possible penalties for under-reporting?

2) Don't W2's with zero (0) federal deductions trigger mandatory paper filing (e-file prohibited) ?

 

3) Do I possibly need his W2's corrected/revised and is there time to do that?

4) What can/should I do about this?

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1 Best answer

Accepted Solutions
AnnetteB6
Employee Tax Expert

Filing jointly (MFJ), both my husband's W2's (part-time jobs) have zero (0) Federal taxes deducted?

To answer your questions in order:

 

1 - Having zero Federal tax withheld can lead to underpayment penalties, but since you are planning to file a joint return and your job withheld Federal income tax, then it is less likely to create an underpayment situation.  Instead, your tax withholdings reported on your W-2 will help to 'pay' the income tax for the joint return.  The underpayment penalty on a joint return considered the total income and withholdings, not each person's share being reported individually.  

 

2 - E-filing should not be prohibited when filing a Married Filing Joint tax return where there is a W-2 with zero withholdings included in the return.  The rules may be different if filing as a Registered Domestic Partnership (RDP).

 

3 - The only reason you would need to request a corrected W-2 would be if you can compare your spouse's last pay stubs from the jobs and they showed that Federal taxes were withheld.  If the pay stubs show withholdings, but the W-2s do not, then the W-2 need to be corrected.  Employers may be able to make the corrections quickly, but if not, you can always file an amended return later if you do not want to wait for the correction.

 

4 - There may not be anything that you need to do.  In the future, be sure that any W-4 that is turned in at the beginning of employment shows the proper filing status and exemptions.  If too many exemptions are claimed, then the chance of no taxes being withheld is greater.  People sometimes choose to do this to increase the money in pocket when they get paid.

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1 Reply
AnnetteB6
Employee Tax Expert

Filing jointly (MFJ), both my husband's W2's (part-time jobs) have zero (0) Federal taxes deducted?

To answer your questions in order:

 

1 - Having zero Federal tax withheld can lead to underpayment penalties, but since you are planning to file a joint return and your job withheld Federal income tax, then it is less likely to create an underpayment situation.  Instead, your tax withholdings reported on your W-2 will help to 'pay' the income tax for the joint return.  The underpayment penalty on a joint return considered the total income and withholdings, not each person's share being reported individually.  

 

2 - E-filing should not be prohibited when filing a Married Filing Joint tax return where there is a W-2 with zero withholdings included in the return.  The rules may be different if filing as a Registered Domestic Partnership (RDP).

 

3 - The only reason you would need to request a corrected W-2 would be if you can compare your spouse's last pay stubs from the jobs and they showed that Federal taxes were withheld.  If the pay stubs show withholdings, but the W-2s do not, then the W-2 need to be corrected.  Employers may be able to make the corrections quickly, but if not, you can always file an amended return later if you do not want to wait for the correction.

 

4 - There may not be anything that you need to do.  In the future, be sure that any W-4 that is turned in at the beginning of employment shows the proper filing status and exemptions.  If too many exemptions are claimed, then the chance of no taxes being withheld is greater.  People sometimes choose to do this to increase the money in pocket when they get paid.

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
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