Just recently got married to a woman that is on disability income and does not file taxes on her income. I am working full time, how should I fill out my W-4 so I am not stuck with a big tax bill at the end of the year?
Hi, @neptech ! In this case, everything is based on your income, you should not need to factor in your wife's disability payments at all. Additionally, our free W-4 calculator may help. Please let me know if this raises any additional questions!
Congratulations on your marriage!
The first step is to determine whether you’re on course to have a refund or a balance due based on what you’ve received so far this year. You can do this by using the TurboTax W4 Calculator: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/
Be careful to answer all questions correctly.
If the calculator results in a refund, then no need to update the W4.
If the calculator results in a balance due, then you’ll want to update your W4 to have Extra withholding for each pay period on Line 4c: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf
On my W-4 should I claim married filing jointly? Married filing separately? or not even change it at all?
Generally speaking, Married Filing Jointly usually results in the lowest tax bill. The selection you make on the W-4 should match how you plan to file. But you may not need to make a change at all, since you're wife's income shouldn't affect the tax bill.
You do not say what kind of disability income your spouse has. You should understand that her income must be included on either your joint return or if you file separate returns--on her own return. If she is receiving Social Security disability and gets a SSA1099, that income must be included on a joint return, or entered on her own MFS return now that you are married. When Social Security is combined with other sources of income, it can become taxable. Or....if you file separate returns (usually the worst way to file) then she must enter it and 85% of her SS will be taxable. Do not assume that her disability is not taxable if it is coming from Social Security.
Or....does she receive some other sort of disability income? You need to be clear on where it is coming from. Is it coming from a plan that she paid into while employed? Or from a plan that was paid for by an employer?
Disability Income
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901145-is-disability-income-taxable
When you sort out the source of the disability income, you will be more able to decide on your own W-4 and what to enter for your own withholding.