Should I claim my kids as dependents if my husband claims them?

Question

I am going back to work after 10 years at home. We file taxes jointly. My husband claims 3 dependents. What should I claim? I am filling out Employee's withholding exemption certificate and w-4 form.

Answer 1

do it as Single and 1 or you might not have enough taxes withheld for the higher total family income

Answer 2

I would claim 0 for now. This is very tricky. You don't want to end up claiming too much and then get slapped with paying back a lot of taxes. This way you will at least get back a nice refund. I would just be cautious.

Answer 3

Each W-4 form assumes that the wages earned at that job are the only wages earned by a taxpayer.

If you and your husband both claim the maximum allowable exemptions, your withholding will be much less than your combined tax liability come April 15.

The same trap exists if you work two jobs.  Since each employer assumes you are working for them alone, your withholding will be too small to cover your liability when your incomes are combined and you are in a higher bracket.

Initially, you will be better off claiming zero exemptions.  After you have worked for a year and know your tax situation, you may be able to claim a deduction, however, it is more likely you will want to have additional money withheld to avoid a large tax bite. Ideally, you want your withholding to equal your tax liability so come tax day, you owe nothing, and are owed nothing.  It is very difficult to pull that off.

Answer 4

No, if you do you'll most likely end up owing when you file your tax return, since you only get one exemption for each of  them when you actually file.

Depending on how many kids you have and their ages, you and he might be able to claim more than 3 total allowances on your W-4's and get more money in your paychecks.  Any refund would be reduced by that amount - it's the same total amount of money, the only thing that changes is when you get it.