W-4 Advice (for US citizen)

[Tonez 23]

Hello.

I came to USA on KQ visa in December 2021, and married US citizen in Feb 2022.

 

I'm from the UK and everything to do with taxes here seems way to complicated for me (maybe I'm just over thinking everything?)

 

Anyway, my wife (US Citizen) has filed last year's taxes and is now talking about filing form W-4, which I believe is about how much money gets withheld from pay in order to pay taxes (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

We have just sent off my AOS packet and I don't have SSN yet (applied for when I arrived in the US but told it couldn't be processed and have to reapply after I get EAD/Green Card), meaning I'm not working right now and have no income from the UK (or anywhere) at all this year.

 

On the W-4 it seems to be logical for my wife to tick 'Married filing Jointly' and it would seem we don't need to fill in any other steps on the W-4.

 

Does that seem correct? My wife gets huge anxiety about this as she is always concerned she's going to do it wrong and get penalised by the government, and as this is my first time looking at a W-4 I just want to clarify it, and make sure I'm understanding it correctly.

 

Any info will be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance

Edited April 2, 2022 by Tonez

[JeanneAdil 6,239]

just so u know the info on this form is so the employer holds out federal and state taxes according to your wishes / u can even ask for more to be taken out if u wish and can fill out a new form yearly (or with changes of circumstances like getting married ,  divorced,  or having a child)  

 

Is w4 reported to IRS?

 

Are employers required to report the information that employees claim on their Form W-4 to the IRS? No, employers aren't required to report any information that employees claim on their Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate to the IRS.Nov 4, 2021

[Ellie_7 99]

Welcome to the US!

Yes, that is the logical thing and it seems you're understanding the W-4 form correctly.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

@Tonez

 

The W4 is just a way to estimate how much tax to hold out of the paychecks so you hopefully come out about even at the end of the year when you actually do a tax return. Adding a spouse or children on a W4 means more comes to your wife in the paycheck and less gets paid in to the IRS toward taxes. Married tax rate is a little lower than single so theoretically she wouldn’t need to pay in as much. Same for getting an extra deduction for the spouse.

 

When the tax return is actually computed there is a tax owed. Then the amount already held out is subtracted as already paid to the iRS. If not enough was paid in during the year, you have a balance still owed the IRS. If too much was paid in during the year, you have a refund. The W4 is just a way to guess what will make you break even and not owe too much or not get too much refund.  She doesn’t even have to do a new W4 really. It’s not a required document for the IRS. Some people want a lot held out of their checks so they get a huge refund rather than gettting a bigger monthly paycheck. If she wants the refund big, she might just keep her current W4. She can also do a new one if this year doesn’t work out with the balance she wants. 

 

[Tonez 23]

Thanks a lot. I think we just over thought the whole thing. She told me she finds taxes and stuff really complicated, so when I read the W-4 I thought it was pretty simple and I think she was worried it shouldn't be that simple because I seemed to explain it in a way she actually understood it.

 

Thanks for your help everyone