Thanks for mentioning this! I notice there's also a section for "Fed MWT" with its own YTD column. I'm guessing that's federal withholding, right? Is that something we should be paying close attention to?

Yes, "Fed MWT" stands for Federal Mandatory Withholding Tax (sometimes just called federal income tax withholding). This is definitely something you should monitor carefully! This represents the federal income tax being withheld from each paycheck and sent to the IRS on your behalf. The YTD total for this column shows how much has been withheld for federal taxes so far this year. When you file your tax return, this amount will be compared against your actual tax liability to determine if you get a refund or owe additional taxes. If the YTD withholding seems too high or too low based on your expected tax situation, you can adjust it by submitting a new W-4 form to your husband's employer.

And Social Security has that annual wage base limit too ($160,200 for 2023, will be different for 2025), so once you hit that in the YTD earnings, you should stop seeing Social Security tax taken out of the remaining paychecks for the year. Medicare doesn't have a cap though.

Do you use special software to calculate both scenarios? Seems like it would be time-consuming to do everything twice.

I use TurboTax and it has a feature that lets you compare filing jointly vs. separately. Most of the major tax software options have this comparison tool built in. You basically enter all your information once, and then it shows you the difference in refund/amount owed for both filing statuses. It takes maybe an extra 15-20 minutes to review both scenarios, but it's definitely worth it when you discover a difference of several hundred or even thousands of dollars. In our case, we've saved over $12,000 across those 7 years by choosing the optimal filing status each year rather than just defaulting to one option.

This is so important! My wife and I saved over $4k last year by filing separately specifically because of her federal student loans on IBR. The tax hit was about $1800 more filing separately, but her monthly payments dropped by $450 per month which saved us $5400 for the year.

Is there any advantage to doing the electronic withdrawal instead of credit card? The fees for credit cards seem high but I'm wondering if there's another reason people choose direct withdrawal?

The main advantage of electronic fund withdrawal is that there are no processing fees, unlike credit card payments which charge around 2%. If you're paying a large tax bill, that 2% can add up fast. Another benefit is that with electronic withdrawal, you can schedule the payment for a future date (up to the filing deadline), while still filing your return early. This gives you more control over exactly when the money leaves your account. Credit card payments process immediately when you make them.

There are limits but they're pretty high. I think it's like 2 payments per processor, but each can be up to $99,999. So you should be fine with $12k. Just check your card's credit limit first, obviously.

Thanks for the info! That's good to know - my credit limit is $20k so I should be fine. Gonna get so many travel points from this payment!

Thanks for mentioning the state filing! I totally wasn't thinking about that. Do I need to wait until the federal amendment is processed before doing the state one?

In most cases, you should file both amendments around the same time. You don't need to wait for the federal amendment to be processed before filing your state amendment. However, some states do require you to attach a copy of your federal amendment (Form 1040-X) to your state amendment form. Each state has their own amendment form and process. For example, California uses Form 540X, New York uses Form IT-201-X, etc. Check your state's tax department website for the specific form and instructions. The state amendment process is usually similar to the federal one, but processing times can vary significantly by state.

Did you have to pay immediately or did they bill you after processing the amendment?

Do you know if the H&R Block free version can handle a small 1099 income? Like I mentioned, I only made about $3,200 from side gigs, and I'm not sure if that pushes me into needing their paid version.

Unfortunately with H&R Block, any 1099 income usually requires an upgrade to their Self-Employed version which costs around $85 for federal filing alone. That's why FreeTaxUSA might be better for your situation since they handle 1099 income with their free federal filing. H&R Block is really only completely free if you have just W-2 income and take the standard deduction.

I used it in the pilot program last year and it was surprisingly good! Way more straightforward than I expected from a government service. The interface is simple but effective, and it's ACTUALLY free - no surprise fees or upsells. The only limitation is that it only works if your tax situation is relatively simple (W-2 income, standard deduction, some basic tax credits). I don't think it handles 1099 income yet, but they're expanding for 2025.

Thanks for sharing your experience! That's encouraging to hear. I've got a pretty simple situation, just a W-2 job, so sounds like it would work well for me. I'll definitely look into it when filing season comes around.