The commission income definitely adds complexity to your W4 setup! Here's what's worked for me in a similar situation: Since your wife has the higher, more stable income at $78k, I'd recommend having her claim both kids on her W4 in Step 3. This keeps things simpler and more predictable for withholding calculations. For your commission income, here's the key: estimate your total annual commission and divide by your number of paychecks, then use that amount in the IRS withholding calculator. The calculator will tell you exactly how much extra to withhold on line 4(c) of your W4. One trick that's helped me - I actually slightly overestimate my commission income when doing these calculations. Better to get a small refund than owe money! You can always adjust mid-year if your commission patterns change significantly. Also, since commission income can push you into higher tax brackets unexpectedly, consider having a flat extra amount withheld from each of your paychecks (like $100-200) just as a buffer. This has saved me from surprise tax bills multiple times. The bottom line: use the IRS withholding calculator quarterly to stay on track, especially with variable income in the mix.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the timing of when you update your W4s during the year. Since you have commission income that varies, I'd suggest reviewing your withholding after each quarter, especially if you have a particularly high or low commission quarter. Also, with two kids, make sure you're taking advantage of the Child Tax Credit properly. The current credit is $2,000 per qualifying child, and this gets factored into your withholding calculations when you claim them in Step 3 of the W4. A tip from my own experience with variable income: I keep a simple spreadsheet tracking my year-to-date commission versus what I estimated when I last updated my W4. If I'm running significantly higher or lower than projected by mid-year, I'll run the IRS calculator again and adjust my withholding for the remaining months. The key is staying proactive rather than waiting until tax time to discover you're off target. With your combined income levels and two kids, you're probably in a sweet spot where small adjustments can make a big difference in getting your withholding just right.

I work at a volunteer tax prep site, and we've dealt with this issue a lot. The solution depends on which stimulus payment we're talking about: 1st & 2nd payments (2020): You'd need to amend your 2020 return if you haven't already claimed them 3rd payment (2021): You'd need to amend your 2021 return The easiest approach now would be to file the amended returns using Form 1040-X and claim the Recovery Rebate Credit for the payments you never cashed. Keep those expired checks though! The IRS might request documentation later. Also, there's a time limit to claim these credits - generally 3 years from the original filing deadline. So for 2020 returns (1st & 2nd stimulus), you have until April 15, 2024. For 2021 returns (3rd stimulus), you have until April 15, 2025.

I went through this exact situation last year! I had two expired stimulus checks from when I was deployed overseas. Here's what worked for me: First, try calling the IRS at 800-919-9835 and ask specifically for the "Economic Impact Payment" department. When you get through (which can take forever), tell them you have expired stimulus checks and need to request a payment trace. They'll ask for the check numbers, amounts, and issue dates if you have them. The agent will initiate a trace to confirm the checks were never cashed, then they can reissue new payments. This took about 8-10 weeks for me, but I did get replacement checks for the full amounts. One tip: if you decide to go the amended return route instead, make sure you're claiming the right tax year for each payment. The first two stimulus payments go on your 2020 return, and the third one goes on your 2021 return. You can't mix them up or it'll delay processing. Either way, definitely keep those expired checks as proof - the IRS may ask for copies during their review process. Good luck getting your money back!

Great thread! As someone who just went through this exact transition at our mid-size company, I wanted to share what worked for us. We initially tried the flat rate approach but quickly realized it wasn't fair to employees traveling to high-cost areas. We ended up implementing a three-tier system based on the FY2025 GSA rates: - Tier 1 (Low cost): 90% of GSA rate ($61 vs $68) - Tier 2 (Medium cost): 85% of GSA rate (varies by city) - Tier 3 (High cost): 95% of GSA rate for places like NYC, SF, DC This gave us meaningful cost savings while still being reasonable for employees. The key was being transparent about our methodology and getting buy-in from department heads before rolling it out. One unexpected benefit - having our own structured rates actually made expense reporting easier for employees since they didn't have to look up constantly changing GSA rates. Our system just tells them the rate based on their destination. The implementation took about 6 weeks total including policy writing, system updates, and employee training. Worth noting that we grandfathered any trips already approved under the old rates to avoid confusion.

I've been following this discussion with great interest as we're facing the exact same challenges at our organization. One aspect I haven't seen mentioned yet is how to handle partial day travel scenarios under the new FY2025 rates. We currently prorate per diem for departure and return days (75% for departure day, 75% for return day if travel extends past certain times), but I'm wondering if anyone has guidance on whether this approach still works when using reduced company rates versus full GSA rates. Also, has anyone dealt with the complexity of employees who travel to multiple cities in one trip? For example, if someone flies to Chicago (medium cost tier) but then drives to a smaller city in Illinois (low cost tier) for client meetings, how do you handle the rate calculation? Do you use the primary destination rate for the entire trip, or do you require employees to track which nights they spent where? I'm leaning toward keeping it simple with a primary destination approach, but want to make sure we're not missing any compliance considerations. The administrative burden of tracking multiple locations per trip seems like it could get out of hand quickly, especially for our field consultants who often hit 3-4 cities in a single week.

I went through almost the exact same situation a few years ago. The IP PIN route worked well for me, but I learned a few things that might help you: First, yes - only you will receive the IP PINs once you request them. Your ex won't be able to get them by calling the IRS, even if he proves he's their father. The PINs get mailed to the address associated with your IRS account. One thing I wish I'd known earlier: start documenting NOW if you haven't already. I created a simple spreadsheet tracking which nights the kids were with me vs. their father, plus I saved copies of school pickup/dropoff records, medical appointment records, and even photos with timestamps showing them at my house. This documentation became crucial later. When your ex tries to file without the IP PINs, his e-file will be rejected with a message saying the SSN can't be used without an IP PIN. If he paper files, it'll eventually get flagged and the IRS will send him a notice. Either way, it stops him from successfully claiming them. The court modification is definitely worth pursuing too - it'll help eliminate his argument about the "50/50" language, even though the IRS cares more about where they actually lived than what the divorce decree says. One heads up: be prepared for this to escalate tensions. My ex was pretty angry when his return got rejected, but having proper documentation ready made the eventual IRS dispute process much smoother. The key is being able to prove they lived with you for more than half the year.

I've been following this discussion and wanted to add some practical tips from my experience working in tax preparation. The advice here about IP PINs is solid, but I'd also suggest a few additional steps: 1. **File early and correctly**: Even with IP PINs protecting your children's SSNs, file your return as soon as you have all your documents (ideally in late January). This establishes your claim first and puts the burden on your ex to prove his case if he tries to file later. 2. **Keep detailed records beyond just custody nights**: Track which parent paid for medical expenses, school supplies, clothing, extracurricular activities, etc. The IRS looks at who provided more than half of the child's support during the year, not just where they slept. 3. **Consider Form 8332 carefully**: If your divorce decree requires you to allow your ex to claim the children in certain years, you might be legally obligated to sign this form releasing the dependency exemption to him. However, this doesn't sound like it applies to your situation given the actual living arrangements. The IP PIN strategy should definitely work to prevent unauthorized claiming, but having comprehensive documentation ready will make any potential disputes much easier to resolve. The IRS really does follow their tie-breaker rules regardless of what divorce agreements say, and physical custody for 95% of the time gives you a very strong position. Good luck with the court modification too - getting that "50/50" language updated to reflect reality will eliminate a lot of future confusion!

After reading through everyone's experiences and advice in this thread, I want to emphasize something that might save others from making a costly mistake: the emotional appeal of getting that full $300 back each paycheck is really powerful, but it's based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what that money actually represents. I was initially attracted to the idea of claiming exempt for the same reason - seeing that big chunk come out of every check and thinking "I could just save this myself and earn interest on it." But as everyone here has demonstrated with their real numbers, that $300 includes Social Security, Medicare, state taxes, health insurance, and other deductions you simply cannot avoid by changing your W-4. The federal income tax portion - which is all you can actually affect by claiming exempt - is typically much smaller. And when you factor in that going exempt means you'll owe that money plus penalties at tax time (with penalty rates around 8% versus savings account rates of 4-5%), the math just doesn't work. What's worked for multiple people in this thread is the methodical approach: get a detailed pay stub breakdown, identify actual federal withholding, compare to previous year's tax liability, and make modest adjustments through proper W-4 changes. You end up with meaningful extra monthly income ($80-150 seems to be the typical range) without the stress and financial risk of owing thousands to the IRS. Sometimes the boring, conservative approach really is the smartest one. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences and numbers - this discussion probably saved a lot of people from expensive mistakes!

I want to share my perspective as someone who almost made this exact mistake a couple years ago. The temptation to go tax exempt is really strong when you see that big chunk coming out of every paycheck, but I'm so glad I didn't follow through after learning more about the actual implications. What really changed my mind was understanding that claiming exempt isn't just about getting more money now and paying later - there are strict legal requirements. You can only claim exempt if you had zero tax liability last year AND expect zero this year. If you don't meet both criteria, you're essentially committing tax fraud, which can result in penalties of $500 per false claim plus all the underpayment penalties and interest. The other wake-up call was realizing that most of what's being withheld from your paycheck isn't even federal income tax that you can exempt yourself from. Social Security (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) are mandatory regardless of your W-4 status. Add in state taxes, health insurance, 401k contributions, and other deductions, and the actual federal withholding might only be a fraction of that $300. My advice: get a detailed breakdown of your deductions first, then use the IRS withholding calculator to make appropriate adjustments to your W-4. You'll probably find you can get an extra $100-200 per month safely without the massive risks that come with falsely claiming exempt status. The peace of mind alone is worth taking the conservative approach.