[W4FilingHelp]

Hi,

I am on H1B visa status since 2011 October and my spouse is on F-1 CPT starting 7/1/2013 (She was previously on H-4 till October 31st 2012). Please correct me if my following assumptions are wrong while I am filling my W-4 form as she filling her W-4 form. I am planning to file the tax returns as married filing jointly later in 2014.

On my W-4,
1) Number of Allowances that I can claim is '1' as no one else is claiming me as dependent
2) # 3 has to be checked with "Single" since my spouse is Non-resident Alien because of her F-1 status.
3) I should be calculating "Two-Earners/Multiple Jobs Worksheet" on page 2 of W-4 and filling that information under # 6 ("Additional amount, if any, you want withheld from each paycheck")

On my spouse's W-4,
1) Number of Allowances that she can claim will be '1' as I am not claiming her as dependent.
2) # 3 has to be checked with "Married"
3) # 6 to be blank as she is non-resident alien.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

You should BOTH submit the Form W-4 as SINGLE, with YOU claiming 1 allowance and HER claiming 2 allowances (if the employer permits it).

REASON: Since you are filing jointly, the FIRST dollar of her salary is taxed at the marginal tax rate of the LAST dollar of your salary, probably at 15%. Hence, she must OVER-withhold to compensate for the higher tax rate.

[W4FilingHelp]

You should BOTH submit the Form W-4 as SINGLE, with YOU claiming 1 allowance and HER claiming 2 allowances (if the employer permits it).

REASON: Since you are filing jointly, the FIRST dollar of her salary is taxed at the marginal tax rate of the LAST dollar of your salary, probably at 15%. Hence, she must OVER-withhold to compensate for the higher tax rate.

Thanks for the quick reply AtlantaTaxExpert. How should I go about # 6 of W-4 form for both mine and hers?

Thank you.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Do NO calculations.

Complete name, address and SSN, claim SINGLE status and enter "1" for you and "2" for your wife on Line #5. Leave Line #6 blank, because enough income SHOULD be withheld to cover your joint tax liability if you both are withheld at the SINGLE rate.

[W4FilingHelp]

Do NO calculations.

Complete name, address and SSN, claim SINGLE status and enter "1" for you and "2" for your wife on Line #5. Leave Line #6 blank, because enough income SHOULD be withheld to cover your joint tax liability if you both are withheld at the SINGLE rate.

Thank you so much AtlantaTaxExpert for your help :) . Really appreciate it.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

Glad to help!