rcj@burl.UUCP (Curtis Jackson) (08/25/85)
I am getting married late this year, and my fiancee' has made almost nothing so far this year -- her income will probably be about equal to mine for the last 4 months of this year. Is there any legal (quasi-legal) (pseudo-legal) (downright illegal) way to adjust my withholding for the rest of the year so I get to use the money now instead of IRS sending me a huge refund check in '86? Thanks for any responses, preferrably by mail (I'll summarize), and please indicate legal, sortoflegal, or illegal in your replies and also the source of your knowledge. -- The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3313 (Cornet 291) alias: Curtis Jackson ...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd mgnetp ]!burl!rcj ...![ ihnp4 cbosgd akgua masscomp ]!clyde!rcj
res@ihlpl.UUCP (Rich Strebendt @ AT&T Information Systems - Indian Hill West; formerly) (08/27/85)
> I am getting married late this year, and my fiancee' has made almost > nothing so far this year -- her income will probably be about equal > to mine for the last 4 months of this year. Is there any legal (quasi-legal) > (pseudo-legal) (downright illegal) way to adjust my withholding for > the rest of the year so I get to use the money now instead of IRS sending > me a huge refund check in '86? In your case I believe that there is a very simple rule that can be applied: You will have no cause for the assessment of penalties by the IRS if your witholding for 1985 would have been adequate to cover your tax liability for 1984. Hence, if her income was modest in 1984 and your joint withholding for 1985 would have covered your taxes and hers for the previous year, then the IRS will not claim that you have under withheld. My wife and I have been following this rule on the advice of our accountant for several years and have not been called on it by the IRS. Rich Strebendt ...!ihnp4!iwsl6!res
rws@gypsy.UUCP (09/09/85)
Run, don't walk, to your personnel office, and ask for the W-4 form and instructions. The way I recall its contents, it basically says that you are expected to withold what you owe, and no more. So if you have witheld (a) as much as you owed last year, OR (b) within $200 of what you owe this year, you are in good shape. You can cut it a little closer by witholding only 80% of what you owe this year, but then you have to file a form with your 1040 detailing, on a quarter by quarter basis, that you had 80% of your debt witheld. Good luck. Bob Schwanke Siemens Research Princeton, NJ 08540-6668 seismo!princeton!siemens!rws