My wife is a bartender. I work a salaried job and make more money than her. I claim all 3 kids on my tax w4 form. She also claimed this in 2019. When we filed our taxes just now for 2019, we got signi

[jjg3684]

Should she file married filing jointly with no dependents even though she has kids? Can I just claim the kids since I make more?

[gaga53]

Dear Couple,

Married filing separately is the highest tax rate of all the status and generally not beneficial.  The W4 form is the form you file to instruct the payroll clerk how much to withhold from your paycheck.  You may end up taking more money home with more exemptions on your W4 but it could be problematic when you file your 1040.

Your wife's extra job probably did not have enough withholding not to mention the tips that may or may not be involved.

You cannot do anything about the withholding now, but if your wife continues to work as bartender than I would complete a new W4 form claiming only 2 children more taxes are withheld to cover your wife's income.  

Also you cannot be considered a head of household with 3 children if you are  married.  I gathered that might have been your strategy.

Gaga53

[KathrynG3]

No. If your filing status is married filing jointly, then both you and your wife report your income on the same return.

If you do not want to file together but are married, your only other option is to file with the filing status of married filing separately. Please see this article to learn more about the limits to deductions filing taxes this way.

To learn more, here are some extra articles:

For unreported tips, see When to Use Tax Form 4137: Tax on Unreported Tip Income and How do I enter unreported tip income?

Who can I claim as a dependent? Children under 17 years old are eligible for a credit of $2,000. This article explains What is a Child Tax Credit with a video. For children under 19 or under 24 if still a full-time student, see the Family Tax Credit