My husband claimed 9 withholding allowances - how do I explain the correct number for a family of 4?
So my husband and I have been having this ongoing argument about his tax withholding at work. When he started his current position about two years ago, he filled out his W-4 and somehow ended up claiming 9 withholding allowances. He swears up and down that he completed the form correctly and that 9 is the right number for our situation. Here's our setup: we're married filing jointly with two kids under 18, both working full-time jobs. Nothing complicated with our taxes - I handle them every year using TurboTax. The problem is that with his 9 allowances, he only had $46 in federal taxes withheld for the ENTIRE year in 2024! Meanwhile, I'm getting a normal amount withheld from my paychecks. Every tax season, I tell him he needs to update his W-4 with HR, but he refuses because he thinks he's right. I'm tired of us potentially owing a bunch at tax time or me essentially covering all our tax liability through my withholding. What is the correct number of allowances for our situation (married, joint filers, 2 kids), and can someone please give me a simple explanation I can use to help him understand how to properly fill out the W-4 form? I need something really straightforward that will convince him once and for all!
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NebulaNova
The confusion might be because the W-4 form changed significantly in 2020. The new form no longer uses "allowances" or "exemptions" at all. Instead, it uses a different system for calculating withholding. For a married couple filing jointly with 2 children, here's what your husband should do on the current W-4: - Check the "Married filing jointly" box in Step 1(c) - In Step 2, if both of you work, he should check box 2(c) or complete the worksheet - In Step 3, he can claim the child tax credit for your two children (typically $2,000 per qualifying child) - Skip Step 4 unless you have other income, deductions to claim, or want additional withholding The old system of claiming "9 allowances" doesn't exist anymore. That's likely why only $46 was withheld - he's essentially telling his employer to withhold almost nothing. The IRS has a Tax Withholding Estimator tool on their website that can help calculate the right withholding for your specific situation. I'd recommend both of you sit down and use that tool together.
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Nia Jackson
•Thanks for explaining! I had no idea the W-4 changed that dramatically. That makes sense why he's been so confused. So even though he filled out a form with "allowances" (maybe an old version or company-specific form?), that's not even how it works anymore? Is there a simple rule of thumb for how much should typically be withheld for someone in our tax bracket? Just so I can show him that $46 for the whole year is way off?
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NebulaNova
•You're welcome! Yes, it sounds like he might have filled out an outdated form or misunderstood what was being asked. Some employers were slow to update their onboarding paperwork after the 2020 changes. As for a rule of thumb, for a typical family of four with both spouses working full-time, federal withholding should generally be around 10-15% of gross income, depending on your income level. So if he made $50,000, seeing only $46 withheld (less than 0.1%) is definitely way off. Most households in this situation would have several thousand dollars withheld throughout the year. The easiest solution is to have him complete a new W-4 with his HR department using the current form. The IRS Withholding Estimator I mentioned will give you the exact numbers for your situation, which will be much more convincing than any general rule.
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Mateo Hernandez
After struggling with a similar withholding issue last year, I found an amazing tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped me understand exactly what was happening with our withholding. My husband was also claiming way too many allowances and we got hit with a huge tax bill. The tool analyzed our paystubs and previous tax returns and showed us exactly what we were doing wrong with our withholding. It even generated a personalized W-4 form with the correct entries already filled in that we could just hand to HR. Super easy and it saved us from another tax surprise this year!
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Aisha Khan
•Does it work for people who are self-employed too? My wife has a W-2 job but I run my own business, and figuring out our withholding situation has been a nightmare.
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Ethan Taylor
•How secure is it? I'm always nervous about uploading my tax docs to some random website. Did you have to create an account and everything?
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Mateo Hernandez
•It definitely works for self-employed situations! The tool has a special section for business owners that helps calculate your quarterly estimated payments based on your projected income. It's way more accurate than the basic methods I was using before. Regarding security, I totally understand the concern. They use bank-level encryption for all uploaded documents, and you can actually use it without creating an account if you prefer. They don't store your tax documents after analysis unless you specifically opt in. I was hesitant at first too, but their privacy policy convinced me it was safe.
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Aisha Khan
Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after seeing this post and it was seriously helpful! My wife's W-2 job and my self-employment income made figuring out withholding super complicated, but the tool broke it down perfectly. It showed exactly how much I should be setting aside for quarterly payments and how to adjust my wife's W-4. The personalized W-4 it generated for my wife was super easy to submit to her HR department. No more tax surprises for us this year! Definitely recommend for anyone with a similarly complicated situation.
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Yuki Ito
If you need to actually talk to someone at the IRS about this (which might help convince your husband), I recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last year and needed clarification directly from the IRS, but couldn't get through on their phone lines. Claimyr actually got me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent walked me through exactly what my husband needed to put on his W-4 and explained why his previous withholding was way off.
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Carmen Lopez
•Wait, they can actually get you through to a real person at the IRS? How much does that cost? I've literally spent HOURS on hold only to get disconnected.
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AstroAdventurer
•Yeah right. Nothing can get you through to the IRS faster. I'll believe it when I see it. The IRS phone system is designed to be impossible.
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Yuki Ito
•They use a callback system that monitors the IRS phone lines and calls you when an agent is about to be available. It's not a direct line to the IRS or anything sketchy - it just handles the waiting for you. Their system knows the best times to call and which menu options to select for your specific issue. I was super skeptical too until I tried it. I had been trying to reach someone for weeks about a similar withholding issue. They actually email you updates while you're in the queue so you know what's happening. When it was my turn, I got a call and was connected to an IRS agent within seconds.
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AstroAdventurer
Ok I need to apologize to Profile 16. I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I decided to try it myself because I've been trying to reach the IRS about a withholding issue for WEEKS. I was completely shocked when they got me through to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that my husband had been using an outdated W-4 form and explained exactly how to fill out the new one. They even sent me to a specific page on the IRS website with state-specific guidance. Honestly, this saved me so much frustration. The IRS agent was actually really helpful once I could talk to a real person. If your husband won't listen to you, maybe he'll listen to an official IRS representative.
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Andre Dupont
I had this exact same issue with my husband! He claimed 8 exemptions and was getting almost nothing withheld. What finally worked for me was showing him our total tax liability from last year's return and then explaining that this amount needs to be paid somehow - either through withholding or at tax time. In our case, our total tax was about $12,000. I showed him that I had $8,000 withheld, but he only had $200 withheld, meaning we owed $3,800 at tax time. Once he saw the actual numbers and realized we were essentially giving the government an interest-free loan if we overpaid, but would face penalties if we underpaid by too much, it finally clicked. The new W-4 is actually easier because you don't have to figure out some magic number of "allowances" - you just follow the steps.
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Nia Jackson
•That's a great way to explain it! I'm definitely going to try this approach. Our tax liability last year was around $10,500 and I had about $9,800 withheld while he had his measly $46. We ended up owing, but it wasn't too bad since I had extra withheld from my checks. Do you know if there's a penalty for underwithholding even if you pay everything you owe by April 15th?
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Andre Dupont
•Yes, there can still be a penalty even if you pay everything by April 15th. It's called an "underpayment penalty" and the IRS expects you to pay your taxes throughout the year, not just at filing time. The general rule is that you need to have paid at least 90% of this year's tax liability OR 100% of last year's tax liability (110% if your income is over $150,000) through withholding or estimated quarterly payments to avoid the penalty. So if you're significantly underwithholding, you could face penalties even if you pay the full amount when you file.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
One thing nobody's mentioned - check if your husband is confusing allowances with the number of dependents. A lot of people think they should put the total number of people in their household. With you, him, and 2 kids, he might have thought 4 was right and then somehow ended up putting 9? Also, if your husband refuses to change his W-4 even after you explain it, you can adjust YOUR withholding to compensate. On the new W-4, in Step 4(c), you can request additional withholding from your paychecks. It's not ideal, but it would prevent owing a huge amount at tax time.
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Jamal Wilson
•This is exactly what happened to my coworker! He thought the form was asking for how many people were in his extended family, so he put 12 (counting parents, siblings, etc.). His first paycheck had like $3 in federal withholding and payroll had to explain the mistake.
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