As the title says, my husband wants to follow the social media trend calling for people to file tax exempt to stick it to the federal government. Being that we’re married, how will this affect me? I realize he’ll owe back taxes at some point, but other than that, what should I expect?
For clarity, I am against him doing this.
Husband wants to follow social media trend and file tax exempt. How will this affect me?
byu/krober29 intax
Posted by krober29
21 Comments
The IRS has a very long arm and will never forget. You could be an innocent spouse, good luck.
You will owe federal taxes your next filing year. Depending on his income level it will almost certainly be tens of thousands of dollars in due taxes.
When you file a tax return next spring, an amount will be owed.
It doesn’t “stick it to the government”, it just means that you’ll owe more at tax time because you’ll need to pay penalties and interest.
Because you’re married and (if filing Married Filing Jointly) jointly responsible for tax owed, it means you’ll also be responsible for these penalties and interest. If you file Married Filing Separately, you won’t be responsible for his owed tax. But you’re likely paying more as a family because MFS is a worse tax filing status for nearly every couple – and that’s ignoring the penalties!
Do you both work? Do you mix finances (ie joint accounts)?
The damage this would cause could be catastrophic. People get frustrated for all kinds of different reasons but the key is ALWAYS to stay grounded in reality. There really is no such thing as “sticking it to the federal government”. That idea will always end badly.
What does it mean to you to “file tax exempt”? This is obviously a colloquial phrase, because it’s not actually a thing—so, can you describe what your husband would be doing when he decides “to file tax exempt”?
In short, don’t. The TLDR version is a) The government will get their money anyway, plus you’ll pay penalties, and b) you could end up in criminal trouble, as it’s a crime to knowingly falsify this.
Funny to say you’re “sticking it to them” when you’ll just end paying more to them because you’ll still owe the same plus interest.
You will get a tax bill.
Is this the only issue in the marriage? It’s not a good sign.
Also remember that the IRS charges a penalty if you under withhold/ pay insufficient estimated tax payments. If he is doing the work to pay just enough in estimated tax payments that all will be fine and you will just have the balance. But most likely he is not doing that and is just hurting himself and you to avoid paying the taxes ontime
This is an example of the tax allergy that some people have where they will actively put themselves in a worse financial spot post tax so that they pay less taxes .
Might be more cost effective to get a new husband.
You are smart. Your husband is not.
I am not a tax professional.
Here’s my one tip for you: start to u tangle your finances from him. Somewhere down the line, he will mess up and this will hit both of you. Be prepared, it is coming. Anyone that relies on social media for tips is someone that is going to be paying a lot of fines in the future. Figure out how to protect yourself.
There is a way to to have your employer withhold no federal taxes. Its used rarely, but for people who had no tax liability the prior year, and expect to have not no tax liability in the current year.
If he does this, when you file, or reconcile your taxable income, you will likely under withhold. You will likely owe some amount and have a penalty for underlayment.
If there is a balance due, you need to discuss with him how much his share is. And agree how that’s paid.
Otherwise, it’s not a good way of trying to , ‘get one over’, on the government.
If my spouse did this I would file my taxes as married separate.
Any assets tied to his name of yours will be frozen when they catch it
Taxes will still be owed, plus interest and penalties. The only one thats getting hurt will be your family, not the irs, terms are not friendly if you borrow from the irs. You can always file separately and let your husband take the hit.
What’s your tax situation typically like?
What do you typically make as a family? What do you normally withhold?
What will happen is, if you owe more than a thousand, you’ll be assessed an underpayment penalty. It’s typically 7%
If you do this too many times for too long, your workplace could be told to bypass your instructions and have a set amount withheld.
Way to stick it to the IRS by purposefully paying extra in interest and penalties. That’ll show ‘em.
So the IRS gets info about what you earn whether you file your taxes or not. If you should have taxes withheld and don’t you will get a bill. It’s automated. A lot of these groups assume a person has to “catch them”. Nope, all computerized. And if you don’t pay that bill they are going to get nasty.
Ask Wesley Snipes how that worked out for him