My wife just got a new job and we’re trying to figure out how best to fill out her W-4 and file taxes for 2025. I tried using the IRS calculator but I know it’s not accurate this close to the end of the year. I’m having trouble determining whether we’ll be better off with MFJ or MFS.
My gross income: 53000
My Taxable income: 40500
Spouse gross income: 54000
Spouse taxable income: 53000 split among 2 jobs. Primary job 40k, part time job 13k that will likely only be kept for about half the year.
I also get the increased standard deduction for blindness. We have 1 dependent (age 2) and do not currently pay for childcare. No other credits or deductions.
We live in CT, and I work in MA. Spouse works in CT.
Any assistance is greatly appreciated.
Edit: clarity
There is zero chance you’re better off filing separately.
Since you both work, you each want to select single/MFS on your W-4, but that doesn’t change how you file. It will just split the deduction and tax brackets in your withholding calculation.
Either put the child tax credit on only one person’s W4, or split it by each entering $1000.
@Palmer
OP clarified in a comment that wife’s $53k is spread across 2 jobs ($40k at one, $13k at the other), complicating things a little.
If they put Single/MFS on all 3 W-4s and include the entire $2000 CTC, they’ll end up underwithheld by quite a bit. (How much depends on how long OP’s wife keeps the $13k job. OP indicated that it probably won’t be all year. If it was all year, it would be nearly $1400.)
For federal only, here’s how I would do it…
- Your W-4 set to “SIngle”, your additional standard deduction for blindness ($1600 for MFJ) on step 4(b).
- Your wife’s W-4 set to “SIngle”, with the Child Tax Credit amount ($2000) on step 3.
- Neither W-4 has the “2 jobs” box checked in step 2.
Then you file your 2025 return (in 2026) as Married Filing Jointly.
Using your $40,500 and $53,000 numbers and presuming those will be your W-2 Box 1 wages in 2025:
- You will have about $2,629.50 withheld for federal income tax
- Your wife will have about $2,321.50 withheld for federal income tax
- Your standard deduction for MFJ +1 blind = $31600
- AGI = $93,500
- minus standard deduction = $61,900 taxable
- Federal income tax = $6,954
- minus $2000 Child Tax Credit = $4,954
- minus $4951 withheld = $3 due with return
Ignore the state stuff in this image:
@Oli
And I’d fill out those W-4s now, so that they might have a chance of affecting any remaining paychecks in 2024.
(And then, of course, you file jointly for 2024. Not MFS.)
@Oli
Thanks so much for the detailed reply.
We currently have the child tax credit on my W-4 and don’t account for the 1650 for blindness. Would leaving it this way significantly affect the results you provided?
My wife’s 53k a year is roughly 40k from her new primary job and 13k from a part time job that she probably won’t end up keeping for the entire year.
Edit: My W-4 is set to MFJ with the 2 jobs box checked.
@Fox
Putting the CTC on one W-4 or the other doesn’t matter (since without it, either job would withhold more than $2000).
Your wife having multiple jobs does matter. Even if you fill out all 3 W-4s as “Single” and the only entry in steps 2 through 4 across all 3 W-4s is the $2000 in step 3 on your W-4, you’ll end up under-withheld for 2025, to the tune of almost $1400.
Presuming your wife keeps both jobs all year, I’d set the W-4s to:
- Yours: Single, $600 in step 3
- Wife main job: Single
- Wife part-time job: Single
- All 3 W-4s otherwise “blank” (i.e. except for the $600 in your step 3, all 3 W-4s have nothing in steps 2, 3, or 4)
You’d end up with a $29 refund.
New image: https://imgur.com/S9B5TTu
@Oli
That makes sense, thank you.
Would your recommendations remain the same if she’s likely not going to keep the part time job after the first half of this year?
Is there a fairly easy way I can calculate this going forward? There’s also the potential for me to end up getting a fairly significant raise next year.
@Fox
If she leaves the part-time job after 6 months, then your federal income tax drops by a bit. By 12% of the portion of the $13k she doesn’t earn. This is because those unearned wages come “off the top” of your taxable income, it would all be in the 12% bracket, and nothing is currently being withheld.
Then, if you get a raise, your additional income would be withheld at your marginal rate: 12% until your wages (after pre-tax deductions) hit about $63k (presuming W-4 says “Single”).
Beyond that, the Tax Withholding Estimator | Internal Revenue Service would/should work well. You’ll have 2 jobs between you, will have a bunch of year-to-date wages and withholding, and will still have a while before you hit the end of the year in case withholding needs to be adjusted.
@Oli
Great, thanks so much!
Just do the w4 like it jan 1 with a fresh year. There’s not going to be a huge difference with 1 or 2 paychecks that this will affect. and you’ll have to redo the W4 on Jan 1 anyway.