W4 Information

[WeatherEmperor 21]

Hey guys,

I don't know where to put this Thread so please forgive me if I put it in the wrong place...but I need some help

Okay so I am starting a new job next week and I have to fill out a new W4. We applied for AOS but my wife still does not have her Green Card yet. I get paid a yearly salary and will get a W2 at the end of the year. My wife will get a 1099 because she works at a nail salon. Because my wife still does not have her Green Card, she is considered a Non-Resident Alien. I looked at the instructions for the W4 form and it says: "Note. If married, but legally separated, or spouse is a nonresident alien, check the 'Single' box".

I understand that immigration law and tax law are completely different in regards to how taxes are supposed to be reported. The question is do I (US Citizen) have to report my tax withholdings as "Single" on my W4 or do I put "Married" anyways? My biggest concern here is that if I pick wrong, I will have too little tax withheld.

[spectec 12]

Hey guys,

I don't know where to put this Thread so please forgive me if I put it in the wrong place...but I need some help

Okay so I am starting a new job next week and I have to fill out a new W4. We applied for AOS but my wife still does not have her Green Card yet. I get paid a yearly salary and will get a W2 at the end of the year. My wife will get a 1099 because she works at a nail salon. Because my wife still does not have her Green Card, she is considered a Non-Resident Alien. I looked at the instructions for the W4 form and it says: "Note. If married, but legally separated, or spouse is a nonresident alien, check the 'Single' box".

I understand that immigration law and tax law are completely different in regards to how taxes are supposed to be reported. The question is do I (US Citizen) have to report my tax withholdings as "Single" on my W4 or do I put "Married" anyways? My biggest concern here is that if I pick wrong, I will have too little tax withheld.

I am i the same position and i hope someone has an answer. I do know the W-4 simply determines how much taxes the employer takes out every pay period. The question is can you file married on your tax return if she doesn't have her green card by the filing deadline.

[Cathi 5,757]

when your spouse gets their green card you can change your with deduction at any time

[Sayha or bust. 71]

You can put single on your w4 if you want more taxes taken out of your check or checked married if you want less. It matters when you file your 1040 for the correct filing status.

I personally file my w4 as single so they take the most out of my check so I can take a little bit of tax burden from my wife's income(1099),she also is nail tech.

Edited July 6, 2012 by Sayha or bust.

[X Factor 1,112]

If you want a bigger refund choose single. Single give you the biggest refund. If you choose marriage less taxes will be withheld. You AOS will be done before the end of the year, so if I were in your position I would choose married.

However if she gets a 1099, then that means taxes are not withheld, so depending on how much money she will be earning, she has to pay quarterly taxes. Or you can choose to have extra taxes taken out of your pay check. The key idea is both of your incomes will be combined for tax purposes and taxes will be charged on the combined amounts as you will most likely be filing married filing jointly.

You need to file married filing jointly so that in the future that will show that both of you have merged your lives together so that she will become a permanent resident.

[Bradinator 0]

Hey guys,

I don't know where to put this Thread so please forgive me if I put it in the wrong place...but I need some help

Okay so I am starting a new job next week and I have to fill out a new W4. We applied for AOS but my wife still does not have her Green Card yet. I get paid a yearly salary and will get a W2 at the end of the year. My wife will get a 1099 because she works at a nail salon. Because my wife still does not have her Green Card, she is considered a Non-Resident Alien. I looked at the instructions for the W4 form and it says: "Note. If married, but legally separated, or spouse is a nonresident alien, check the 'Single' box".

I understand that immigration law and tax law are completely different in regards to how taxes are supposed to be reported. The question is do I (US Citizen) have to report my tax withholdings as "Single" on my W4 or do I put "Married" anyways? My biggest concern here is that if I pick wrong, I will have too little tax withheld.

Regarding the resident status of your wife, she may be a resident alien if she meets the substantial presence test. If she has been in the US for 31 days during 2012 and 183 days during the years of 2012, 2011, and 2010 (only counting 1/3 of the days in 2011 and 1/6 of the days in 2010) then she is a resident alien for tax purposes. If she is a resident alien then you can file a tax return.

If you want more tax withheld from your income you can check the box on the form W-4 that says "Married, but withhold at higher single rate" on item 3 of the form. Also, you can put in an additional amount you want withheld from each paycheck on item 6 of the W-4.

I'd suggest researching form 1040 instructions, form W-4, and publication 519 (US Tax Guide for Aliens) for more information.

[WeatherEmperor 21]

Thanks guys. I think I have a much better understanding of it now. I was about to spend money with a tax consultant from hr block but then I remembered I can always check with you guys first. Thanks everyone!

[Anh map 2,098]

Thanks guys. I think I have a much better understanding of it now. I was about to spend money with a tax consultant from hr block but then I remembered I can always check with you guys first. Thanks everyone!

Carrick,

The 1099 from the salon is going to bite you in the azz if you don't do any advance planning. She is going to have income tax liability as well as Social Security tax liability.

The W4 is primarily for you to have the right amount of tax withheld. If you are too low, there can be a penalty. Too high, and it can give you a tighter budget than need be. She'll have her GC by the end of the year won't she?<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">

Sit down and figure it out and have enough taken out of your check to make up for what she's liable for. Also, do the proper filings for Social Security.

Oh yeah, it's a pain.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hey guys,

I don't know where to put this Thread so please forgive me if I put it in the wrong place...but I need some help

Okay so I am starting a new job next week and I have to fill out a new W4. We applied for AOS but my wife still does not have her Green Card yet. I get paid a yearly salary and will get a W2 at the end of the year. My wife will get a 1099 because she works at a nail salon. Because my wife still does not have her Green Card, she is considered a Non-Resident Alien. I looked at the instructions for the W4 form and it says: "Note. If married, but legally separated, or spouse is a nonresident alien, check the 'Single' box".

I understand that immigration law and tax law are completely different in regards to how taxes are supposed to be reported. The question is do I (US Citizen) have to report my tax withholdings as "Single" on my W4 or do I put "Married" anyways? My biggest concern here is that if I pick wrong, I will have too little tax withheld.

You are correct that immigration law and tax law are completely different. Single for a tax purpose DOES NOT MEAN being single and able to freely marry.

The W-4 is for your employer to calculate how much tax to withhold and remit to the state and federal government on your behalf.

If you mark single, then your tax withholding will be based on the single tax rate. This generally means more taxes is taken out than if you mark married. Generally, if a spouse is legally separated - the government assumes you will file separate which puts you in a higher tax rate than filing together as married - so this is why choosing single makes sense since more taxes will be withheld from your paycheck. Similar logic for a non-resident spouse, you would be filing married filing separately.

NOTICE THAT NOWHERE ON THE W-4 IS THERE AN OPTION TO LIST "MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY" which is why you mark single vs. married. THIS IS THE DAMN PROBLEM THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE WHO THINK THEY ARE SINGLE AND THE US DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THEIR FOREIGN MARRIAGE. YOU PEOPLE ARE NOT SINGLE. YOU ARE MARRIED. (Sorry for my digression.)

Anh Map is correct. Your wife's 1099 is going to bite you in the pocketbook. (My people abuse the independent contractor vs. employee designation. Too many nail shop owners pay their employees in cash. They cheat on their taxes. They take advantage of the new immigrants who don't understand the tax implications of being classified as a contractor.) Generally, an independent contractor gets paid without any income tax, social security tax, or medicare taxes taken out. Your wife will have to pay those taxes when she files her tax return. The two of you will be on the hook.

Figure out what your tax liabilities will be in 2012 based on your anticipated income for the year using the 2011 tax tables for a married couple. Then make sure that your employer takes out enough taxes to cover your earnings and your wife. This will mean you will owe nothing at tax time or get a refund. As you noted, if your employer does not withhold enough to cover your joint liabilities, you will be writing a check to the tax man.

Listing yourself as single will mean more taxes will be taken out of your paycheck vs listing yourself as married. This will help with your concern.

Edited July 7, 2012 by aaron2020

[WeatherEmperor 21]

I am hopeful that she will have her Green Card before the end of the year. I figured that we would owe taxes when I learned she would be getting a 1099. Before I met my wife, I always filed "Single" because I was a single man. What happened is that I had more taxes withheld from my paychecks, but when I filed my taxes in April each year I got like a $1050 tax refund every year. Now that I know that my wife will owe taxes at the end of the year, I think I will take aaron2020's advise and once again file "Single". This will have more taxes withheld from my paychecks to help cover my wife's eventual taxes. This should help a little right?

Also, now that I understand how to do my W4 and my wife's 1099, what about the actual filing of taxes in April? The thing is, during this year 2012 my wife started out as a non-resident alien. Later in this year 2012, she should get her Green Card. This means that she had 2 different immigrant status' during the year 2012. What implications will this have in April in terms of being able to file married filing jointly? Can I file jointly or should I file separately??

Edited July 7, 2012 by WeatherEmperor

[Anh map 2,098]

I am hopeful that she will have her Green Card before the end of the year. I figured that we would owe taxes when I learned she would be getting a 1099. Before I met my wife, I always filed "Single" because I was a single man. What happened is that I had more taxes withheld from my paychecks, but when I filed my taxes in April each year I got like a $1050 tax refund every year. Now that I know that my wife will owe taxes at the end of the year, I think I will take aaron2020's advise and once again file "Single". This will have more taxes withheld from my paychecks to help cover my wife's eventual taxes. This should help a little right?

Also, now that I understand how to do my W4 and my wife's 1099, what about the actual filing of taxes in April? The thing is, during this year 2012 my wife started out as a non-resident alien. Later in this year 2012, she should get her Green Card. This means that she had 2 different immigrant status' during the year 2012. What implications will this have in April in terms of being able to file married filing jointly? Can I file jointly or should I file separately??

Doesn't matter about her status. She's got a SSN. File taxes jointly (unless there is some compelling reason to file separately).

Don't stress over the W4. It's just something your employer needs to do their withholding calculations. I used to have employees that would change them every couple of months to alter the amount taken out. Single rate is higher than married. What you ought to do is figure out what your wife is likely to make and determine what taxes she's going to owe. You can then adjust you W4 to have enough taken out of your check so that you aren't caught with a huge tax bill. You can have additional taken out each week.

There is a penalty for not having enough taken out, or for not making the quarterly tax payments that your wife ought to be making as a 1099. So make sure that you avoid that.

There are free online tax calculators that can help you figure out what you are looking at. Do a Google search to find one that you like.

[WeatherEmperor 21]

Doesn't matter about her status. She's got a SSN. File taxes jointly (unless there is some compelling reason to file separately).

Don't stress over the W4. It's just something your employer needs to do their withholding calculations. I used to have employees that would change them every couple of months to alter the amount taken out. Single rate is higher than married. What you ought to do is figure out what your wife is likely to make and determine what taxes she's going to owe. You can then adjust you W4 to have enough taken out of your check so that you aren't caught with a huge tax bill. You can have additional taken out each week.

There is a penalty for not having enough taken out, or for not making the quarterly tax payments that your wife ought to be making as a 1099. So make sure that you avoid that.

There are free online tax calculators that can help you figure out what you are looking at. Do a Google search to find one that you like.

Roger,

I researched this further and you are absolutely 100% correct. In fact, I found out that if I withhold enough money from my paycheck on my W4 to cover my wife's 1099 taxes, we don't have to make quarterly tax payments on the 1099. I will do exactly what you said: Estimate what she will earn in 2012 and calculate how much money I need to withhold every month on MY paychecks. This way the worst case scenario ends up being that we overpay taxes a little bit. This is where a CPA comes in handy and I can have him figure out how to get a refund from whatever taxes we overpaid.

I am so glad I found Visa Journey. Honestly guys, in years past I would have totally freaked out about this but I have learned to be patient. Yeah a 1099 can scare the hell out you but if you stay calm and ask the correct questions, you can overcome the potential tax headaches. Thanks for everything!

[Anh map 2,098]

She should also be paying the "self-employment tax" as well. That's for social security and medicare. And the social security is at twice the rate you see it on your paystub.

Here's a link > http://www.irs.gov/t...pics/tc554.html

Remember to track all of her work expenses (nippers, polish, license, etc.) that can be deducted.

Yeah, getting 1099's sucks.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Anh map

[WeatherEmperor 21]

She should also be paying the "self-employment tax" as well. That's for social security and medicare. And the social security is at twice the rate you see it on your paystub.

Here's a link > http://www.irs.gov/t...pics/tc554.html

Remember to track all of her work expenses (nippers, polish, license, etc.) that can be deducted.

Yeah, getting 1099's sucks.

I see what you mean. I hate the 1099's. The thing I am still trying to sort out is our combines incomes and how that affects how much taxes my wife pays. We intend to file married filing jointly in april. I am guessing the taxes she has to pay depend on what our combines incomes are for joint filers. I saw for joint filers you pay 1740+ 15% for amounts over 17300. Our combines income is less than 70000 so we fall in this tax range. If this is the case its easy to calculate her income tax because i know what my income tax is. I just want to deduct enough from my check to avoid having to pay quarterly taxes because i want to do it yearly instead.

As far as employment tax, i have not figured out who to pay it to. Should i pay these taxes together with the income taxes to the IRS?

[Anh map 2,098]

Watch this for some basic explanation >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4JyyEqRmpk