Will I get in trouble with the IRS if I've been married for 1.5 years but my W-4 status is still "Single"?
Answer:
Nope, not at all.
This filing status only affects what they take out of your paycheck every week and does not affect your annual taxes owed.
It most likely will give you a larger refund because they tax you more as a single person throughout the year, than they would if you were listed as a married person so at the end of the year you would be entitled to a refund of the over paid money.
I would still correct the problem though since you don't want to be loaning the money to the government interest free all year.
No. The W-4 just dictates how much of your paycheck goes towards your federal taxes. In this case, your refund check should be bigger.
No. The W-4 is just used to estimate the amount of taxes you should owe to the IRS. The employer then takes out the amount of taxes you have estimated using the W-4.
The W-4 is not turned into the IRS. This is just for your employer to take out allowances on yourself.
The W-4 is just taking out money of your paycheck to cover your taxes at the end of the year. If you file single or no dependents then you are having the most amount of allowances taken out of your check. This could lead to a bigger refund to you at the end of the year.
If you add more and more dependents to your w-4 you will have less taxes taken out on your paycheck but. that means less money put in your allowance. When taxes are filed you may not have enough to cover the taxes and this is when some people have to pay money back at the end of the year instead of get a tax refund.
I do payroll for a company and I can assure you the W-4 is only for employer use.
Nope, you won't be in trouble. The W4 doesn't even get submitted to the IRS unless you have a huge amount of exemptions (like 10+). You are perfectly free to withhold at the higher single rate if you choose. On the plus side of this, you should get a better refund in the spring. The negative side is you are making an interest free loan to the federal government.
FYI - you can change your W4 anytime you want as often as you want. You might annoy the payroll department though!
No. The W-4 is only used for estimated withholdings; it has nothing to do with your actual taxes.
as long as you file your tax return the correct way you are fine. They do not check your status on the 1040 to the w4.
No, they just take out more taxes. My husband claims married and ten (yes 10!) so they take even less taxes. It is your duty to make good with the IRS at the end of the year.
No, that doesn't matter. What your W-4 does is tell your employer how much tax to withhold from your paycheck. As long as you end up paying the correct amount at the end of the year, it's all good. But you should change your W-4.
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