Q: Tax concern
I have been claiming single/0 since I started working and always gets at least $1,200 refund each year. I got married and decided to change my tax withholding online. I will apologize in advance to the experts when it comes to finance and taxes, but I am someone who knows little about taxes. I thought the word “exempt and no liability” meant I did not owe and do not owe any taxes, so I ticked “yes” on exempt. I was looking at my pay statement this afternoon and was shocked by how much I will be taking home this coming pay day and realized that no tax was withheld for this paycheck. I immediately went online and submitted a new w-4 claiming “married/1”. Will I be owing money from IRS because of what happened? My annual income is $52k and no dependents. I am really worried.
A: It is hard to answer whether there will be any balance due with your tax return when you file in 2018. However, if you were claiming single/0 for the majority of the year, got married during the year (and presumably would be filing jointly with your spouse which would give you a lower tax rate than the single rate), and you only had one paycheck where no withholding was taken out, then it is unlikely you would have any balance due with your tax return. If you do have a balance due with your tax return, you should attempt to pay it when you file your return before April 15th. If you can't afford to pay the full balance, there are a variety of payment plans available.
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