Tax Pro's need a little assistance with 2019 tax withholding's

[Fishing Addict]

Alrighty BBC Tax professionals, can you help me out with my 2019 withholding please?

All of my children have now, (as of late 2018) turned 18, and have moved out.

Son has moved out of state and working to support himself and (hopefully) attend school in the near future.

Daughter has also moved out of state where she is currently living with my folks, working two jobs, and attending community college. She is paying for the large majority of school on her own.

So, for 2019, neither of them will be claimed as dependents on my taxes. Each will file/claim themselves.

All of this said, I realize that my wife and I will need to change our withholding from the current, married/3. Does it get dropped to married/0? And, if so, how substantial of a hit is that going to be to the budget?

I get paid weekly, wife gets paid monthly (not much at all though), and, I typically work a TON of overtime throughout the year.

Thanks in advance

[brnzbaklvr]

I have no idea..I changed my withholding to Married 0 this year just to cover my butt and I will adjust from there..I am pretty sure I will be taking the Standard deduction..

[Chief Paduke]

Go to one of the free online tax programs and prepare an estimated 2019 tax return. You can estimate your withholding a needed from that figure. Then tell your employers how much you want withheld from each check.

[BMCD]

If your exemptions are 0 or 1 your probably ok, unless you make substantially more then your wife and your in a different tax bracket then her. That is my case and I have to with hold extra each month.

[Fishing Addict]

If your exemptions are 0 or 1 your probably ok, unless you make substantially more then your wife and your in a different tax bracket then her. That is my case and I have to with hold extra each month.

Didn't thing about the difference in our individual incomes. I make roughly 6-7 times what she does.

[stratos284]

Ive claimed married and 3 for the last 20 years.
Last year I had to pay state tax and got back 5 dollars less from federal than what I paid state.
Havent had kids to claim in 4 years.

Id rather use MY money thruout the year vs letting the Gov use it interest free.
Works for me if it dont for someone else well then, I dont care

[5keepers2]

Suggest married and O......you will need to submit new form to your employer and wife's employer.

[RyanB]

Starting in 2018 the dependency exemptions are gone. However, how you fill out your W-4 still makes a difference on how much withholding you have. If you go single claiming 0 then you will have the most taken out for federal taxes. It's difficult to say without seeing a check stub. For example a smaller check has less withholding. So if you work multiple jobs that combined you make $50K then you will have less withheld than if you make $50K from the same employer.

If you really want to nail it down,then after you have your 2018 tax return filed see how much tax you paid. Then go to Circular E (IRS Publication 15) and figure out how much you need taken out each paycheck. You can get pretty close to breakeven with this approach.

[Bassman Ia.]

Wife takes a folder to the CPA, drops it off, he calls says it's completed, We write a check to him. Stop on the way home, pick up more Lube.

[Missouri Jay]

You need to figure out what tax bracket you are in for your income range. It doesn't matter who makes more money if you are filing jointly. Once you know your tax bracket you can look up what the standard deductions are and know roughly how much federal tax you will have to pay at the end of the year and adjust your withholding to that. I have no dependents anymore and claim married-0, withholding at the higher single rate, plus have $25 per check extra held out. My wife does the same and it's not enough. We owe every year.

[n2ratfishin]

Welcome to the land of DINK. Don't forget to pay yourself first via 401K etc...

[TampaJim]

Your wife works full-time and yet you make 6-7X her gross income.
Give your CPA a ring and ask that very simple question you've now got.
And if you don't have a CPA/CFP, please find one that's competent.
Pretend your entire financial well being and retirement depend on it.
You make MORE than enough that you should be managed.

[bshort]

Id rather use MY money thruout the year vs letting the Gov use it interest free.
Works for me if it dont for someone else well then, I dont care

This reminds me of a friend of mine. He's always bragging about how he and his wife get 13K back on their taxes. He can't seem to comprehend that he overpaid throughout the year.

[TampaJim]

This reminds me of a friend of mine. He's always bragging about how he and his wife get 13K back on their taxes. He can't seem to comprehend that he overpaid throughout the year.

For some people, it's the best solution. It's 'out of sight and out of mind' and a mini nest egg.
Some will invest it, some will spend it, some will pay off debts. But at least its accumulated.
Much prefer to see them do it that way than to do Married 0 and spend every penny as earned.
People tend to actually spend a little more time to consider the use of the nice windfall later.

[bass.man65]

A bunch of people are in for a big shock this year a lot of people will owe thanks to the dumb ass move the IRS did last Jan. They the IRS thought it would be a good idea to withhold less money from peoples checks (lowered the withholding percentage) so you paid in less this year when you should not have. I will owe even more this year from this new smoke and mirrors lower rate BS for 18. Me and wife both claim married 0 and each have additional $100 each bi weekly coming out from Federal and will owe about $3,000 more this year.

[RyanB]

A bunch of people are in for a big shock this year a lot of people will owe thanks to the dumb ass move the IRS did last Jan. They the IRS thought it would be a good idea to withhold less money from peoples checks (lowered the withholding percentage) so you paid in less this year when you should not have. I will owe even more this year from this new smoke and mirrors lower rate BS for 18. Me and wife both claim married 0 and each have additional $100 each bi weekly coming out from Federal and will owe about $3,000 more this year.

I disagree with this. Yes the withholding fell but so did the brackets. The standard went from just shy of 13K in 2017 to $24K in 2018 for married couples. But in 2018 we lose the personal exemptions. Many will have more taxable income but the bracket changes seemed to counteract additional taxes FOR MOST. As I prepared and signed tax returns last year, I ran a projection for all my clients to see how the changes in 2018 would affect them and to see if we needed to changes withholdings or estimates. 95% were in better shape.

[Fishing Addict]

Thanks, never really needed a CPA before. Sounds like we’ve got to find one now.

[TampaJim]

Thanks, never really needed a CPA before. Sounds like we’ve got to find one now.

Great news. Find a CPA/CFP combo or do they separately (my preference).
By your own statements, you’re pulling in at least $150k/year.
Which means you have MORE than ample income to invest properly.
Retirement is important. Early as possible and with comfort & enjoyment.

[bass.man65]

I disagree with this. Yes the withholding fell but so did the brackets. The standard went from just shy of 13K in 2017 to $24K in 2018 for married couples. But in 2018 we lose the personal exemptions. Many will have more taxable income but the bracket changes seemed to counteract additional taxes FOR MOST. As I prepared and signed tax returns last year, I ran a projection for all my clients to see how the changes in 2018 would affect them and to see if we needed to changes withholdings or estimates. 95% were in better shape.

You left out the $10,000 cap for state taxes and my property tax. I pay around $26,000 in MD tax and property tax and will only be able to deduct $10,000 that puts my AGI $16,000 higher. So much for a bracket change lets see you go from a 28% to 25% but AGI is higher so no counteract here. I like how you say FOR MOST you are correct but I will not be one of them. Pretty simple math here Brackets fell but AGI is higher or could of left Brackets alone and had a lower AGI. This new way did not help me at all, Now for people making less money maybe it did help them. I thought it was to help the middle class clearly it wasn't.

[TampaJim]

I took a pop with the new tax laws too, especially while still working.
By retiring, I’m actually not losing nearly as much as it would have been.
So if the desired effect was to encourage me to retire ... great law.