Q. My payroll person told me that the filing status on the W-4 doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing as my marital status. Is that true? What is filing status? A. Filing status on the W-4 and filing status on your tax return are not necessarily the same thing. The W-4 drives withholding only. The [...]
Q. My divorce was finalized mid November…I do not work….how should my ex-husband and I file? We still live in the same house, although me and the kids upstairs, he downstairs…In our divorce decree, he gets to claim both kids as exemptions through 2010. As stated in the decree, he also must pay me temporary [...]
Q. My employer says I have to complete a new W-4 every year. Is this true? How often do I have to do this? It’s always the same. A. I’m amazed at how many questions come in regarding the Form W-4. This deceivingly simple addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Faskcpasam.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2F16%2Fw-4-frequency%2F’; addthis_title = ‘A+New+W-4+Every+Year%3F’; addthis_pub = ”;
Q. My paycheck is never the same because I’m in sales. I’m always adjusting my W-4 to get the withholding right. Now my payroll department is telling me I have to wait a month before my changes are input. Is this legal? A. As I say all the time in this blog, the W-4 is [...]
Q. I had way too much withholding last year and got a huge refund when filing my tax return. How do I change that? A. This blog is coming from the floor of the Exhibit Hall at the American Payroll Association 2008 Congress in Austin, TX. With almost 2000 payroll folks surrounding me, I get [...]
Q. What does the box mean on the W-4 Form that says “Married but withhold at higher single rate?” A. This is one of the most frequent questions I get. The answer lies in an understanding of federal withholding. There are two withholding tables used by employers to withholding federal tax. One is for those [...]
Q. How do I complete the Form W-4 if my spouse is working or out of the country or retired? A. Keep in mind that what I can discuss here is very general due to the nature of the question. The Form W-4 as mentioned before is the road map your payroll department uses to [...]
