Tax Question

[tsabbas 47]

Here's another thought...you're letting the IRS take more money out and hold it for up to a year (YOUR money!) while you gain no interest on it. Instead of taking it all out at the "single" rate, take as little out of your paycheck as possible and put the extra in a high yield savings account. It won't change how much tax you pay, just when you pay it. If you haven't paid enough out of your paycheck by the end of the year and you owe a little tax, take it out of the savings. You are still ahead by whatever interest you earn. In addition, you now have a joint savings account with some money in it to use as additional evidence.

[AB loves AG 54]

Oh we didn't submit anything yet. We were just wondering if USCIS would "dig deep" beyond our joint file return and see our W-4 elections.

No, they won't care how much you have deducted from your paycheck. They care about filing status on your 1040. I have single on my W4 so they take more taxes out, we file our 1040 married filing jointly.

[AB loves AG 54]

Here's another thought...you're letting the IRS take more money out and hold it for up to a year (YOUR money!) while you gain no interest on it. Instead of taking it all out at the "single" rate, take as little out of your paycheck as possible and put the extra in a high yield savings account. It won't change how much tax you pay, just when you pay it. If you haven't paid enough out of your paycheck by the end of the year and you owe a little tax, take it out of the savings. You are still ahead by whatever interest you earn. In addition, you now have a joint savings account with some money in it to use as additional evidence.

Be careful though, owing money at the end of the year can yield a penalty if it's above a certain threshold. The small % you earn on savings will be eaten up by the much larger % the IRS charges you.

[Stevephoto 230]

I agree. The W-4 does not matter. I have always been told that file married-jointly is better because it might put your combined income into a lower tax bracket and yield a lower amount owed. The main thing for ROC, as others have pointed out, is to file married.

[IanChap 5]

I'm not sure how this reflects on the tax returns, but we filed jointly, and I received the tax return with both our names on. Perhaps, I was just really wanting our names together on it, I didnt even know you could file singly. I think the main thing is to have the paper that has both your names on filing together, I am just speaking from what I did. From other RFE posts I have seen, they seem to always ask for tax returns as a strong form of evidence. Hope this helps. Good luck!!

edit: when I sent in my ROC package, i might be confused right now, it is late, all i included was the accountants proof of 3 years of joint tax filing, with both our names on.

[Shauneg 762]

You're question has been answered but for gee whiz on the w4 you can claim 0 or you can claim 20 exemptions....doesn't matter as it evens out when filing taxes. You are good to go....and good luck!