Income taxes are a requirement for most of us, and if we have an employer we need to set up the amount of tax to be withheld from each of our paychecks. You usually do that when you start a new job, by filling out a Form W-4. But should you ever update your tax withholding amount?
Yes, there are a few reasons that you might want to update your W-4 withholding amount. Here are 5 of the most common.
1. Getting married. Or divorced.
If you get hitched (or unhitched), there’s a good chance it’ll change your tax rate. If both of you work, it definitely will. When you’re married and you file your tax return jointly, you benefit from a lower tax rate, as well as other deductions. So if you get married, you’ll want to make updates to your tax withholding to adjust for that. And if you get divorced, you’ll also want to adjust for the loss of those tax benefits.
2. Adding extra income
These days, it seems like everyone has a side hustle. If you have one, or any other extra source of income, you’re going to be on the hook for more income tax. If that job doesn’t have tax withholding, you’ll need to update your main job’s W-4 to adjust the withholding to include that extra income.
3. You add a child to your household
If you have a baby or adopt a child, it’s already a very exciting time… but it gets better. You might be able to save money on your taxes with the Child Tax Credit. If you adopt a child, you may be eligible for another tax credit. Either one could give you a reason to lower your tax withholding to allow for those additional tax credits.
4. Your spouse changes work status
If you’re married and your husband or wife gets a job, changes jobs, or stops working, you’ll want to check and see whether you need to adjust your withholding. Use your combined income (updated to reflect the new job, or lack of job) to calculate any changes you should make to your W4.
5. You were unemployed at any point during the year
If you got laid off for any period of time, and then rehired, your W-4 withholding will be set too high—because it won’t account for the lower total income that resulted from the layoff. Be sure to update your W-4 to adjust for the wages you didn’t earn during the layoff.