Married and Withholdings

daware · ‎February 23, 2021

I got married in 2020. My paychecks still say single for federal and state withholdings.

Do I need to update my withholdings from single to married with my work before filing income taxes as either married filing jointly or married filing separately? I didn't know if there was an issue if these didn't match when filing.

DoninGA · ‎February 23, 2021

The filing status on your W-4 you give to your employer for withholding taxes has no bearing whatsoever on the filing status you use on your tax return.

If you need to adjust the amount of withholdings on your W-4 go to this IRS withholding estimator website - https://www.irs.gov/payments/tax-withholding

If you are legally married and living together as of 12/31/2020 you can only file your tax return as Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately. You would want to file as MFJ even if one spouse has little or no income. You also get a higher standard deduction and a lower tax rate compared to MFS.

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DoninGA · ‎February 23, 2021

The filing status on your W-4 you give to your employer for withholding taxes has no bearing whatsoever on the filing status you use on your tax return.

If you need to adjust the amount of withholdings on your W-4 go to this IRS withholding estimator website - https://www.irs.gov/payments/tax-withholding

If you are legally married and living together as of 12/31/2020 you can only file your tax return as Married Filing Jointly or Married Filing Separately. You would want to file as MFJ even if one spouse has little or no income. You also get a higher standard deduction and a lower tax rate compared to MFS.