Filing as Married on your W-4

Did you know that there is a lower withholding rate for people who qualify to check the "Married" box in line 3 of form W-4. Everyone else must have tax withheld at the higher single rate. You must check the single box if any of the following applies:

* You are single. If you are divorced, or separated from your spouse under a court decree of separate maintenance, you are considered single.
* You are married, but neither you nor your spouse is a citizen or resident of the United States
* You are married, either of you or your spouse is a nonresident alien, and you have not chosen to have that person treated as a resident alien for tax purposes.

To qualify as married, the following would need to qualify:

* You are married and neither you nor your spouse is a non resident alien. You are considered married for the whole year even if your spouse died during the year.
* You are married, either you or your spouse is a nonresident alien, and you have chosen to have that person treated as a resident alien for tax purposes.
* You expect to be able to file your return as a qualifying widow or widower. You usually can use this filing status if your spouse dies within the previous 2 years and you provide more than half the cost of keeping up a home that was the main home for you and your dependent child for the entire year. However, you must file a new form W-4 showing your filing status as single by December 1 of the last year your eligible to file as a qualifying widow or widower.

Some married people find that they do not have enough tax withheld at the married rate. This can happen, for example when both spouses work. To avoid this, the IRS states that you can check the "Married" but withhold at higher Single rate box (even if you qualify for the married rate). Also. you may find that more tax is withheld if you fill out the Two-Earners/Multiple Jobs Worksheet .

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