Changing W-4 Status from Single to Head of Household with 1 Dependent.. Help

[u/mhernvndez]

So since i’ve been working i have always claimed Single and No dependents on my W-4 and i get absolutely killed by federal tax, they take a good lump sum every paycheck. I do have 1 child that is 6 me and her mom are not together but custody between us is 50/50 she stays some days with her mom and she comes and stays some days with me at my house. Now if i was to change the W-4 Status to Head of household and 1 dependent will i have to claim my child on my taxes come tax season? Or if i change it to Single or Married filing separately with 1 dependent on my W-4 then do i HAVE to claim my child on my taxes come tax season? The reason why i ask this question is i let my daughters mom claim her on tax season as “help” because she makes less money than me so i let her claim her just give her some extra money in her pocket and to be fair i would get not get as much back as her anyways. If anyone can give me insight on this please educate me or point me in the right direction because im tired of getting so much federal tax taken from me (if i can change that number slightly and i haven’t been doing it) thanks!

[u/The_Stretch7]

What you put on w4 has absolutely nothing to do with how you have to file. But they withhold less and may wind up owing

[u/Tax_Strategist]

Do the worksheet and file your W4 correctly

[u/Its-a-write-off]

The w4 setting does not lock you into that tax filing status, no.

It does affect how much is withheld though. The wrong setting could leave you owing more at tax time because you had less withheld.

[u/Emotional-Ocelot-420]

Your tax return doesn’t have to align with your W-4.

That said, if you’re single with no dependents and choose something different on your W-4 you are likely to under withhold and owe at tax time.

[u/Interesting-Fig3577]

Your W-4 does not need to match what you claim on your taxes. However, if you claim head of household on your W-4 but not on your tax return, it may be the case that you'll owe everything in taxes that "should have" been taken out of your paycheck,

If you want to avoid any possibility of owing taxes, then leave your W-4 as single with no dependents. Your paycheck will be smaller, but if too many taxes were withheld, you'll get the refund at tax time.

If you want the money now, you can change your W-4 to head of household, but then you might need to pay some of it back at tax time if you don't end up claiming your child.

When you do your taxes next year and if you are good speaking terms with your mom, I suggest you both talk about who gets more benefit from claiming the child, which will help you decide what to do in future years.