Not paying, but with the right information, seems a lot less risky (legally) than lying on IRS forms.
In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s a bunch of fine print on those exact documents explaining how lying on them will “fuck yo shit right up”.
Note: Exempt obviously doesn’t mean you won’t owe taxes, just that they won’t be withheld automatically on your paychecks. It’s also not uncommon in sales to go exempt for single large commission check, or bonus.
Edit: Mixed up max withholding and no withholding. Fixed now, my bad.
The backlog on catching fraud makes it worse too. People will think they’ve got a good scam going for a few years before the IRS finally gets around to busting them. By that time they have multiple years of fraud and tax evasion charges all piled up.
Isn’t it the other way around? Claiming zero means they take the maximum amount in taxes out. For every dependent you claim, they reduce the amount they take out. I’m sure there’s a cap but they guy probably thinks he can claim 99 and then not fill out his taxes.
FWIW the post-2020 Form W4 did away with picking a number of allowances. Now you write in a dollar figure comprised of multiples of $2000 and $500 as Step 4 states.
Seeing a low single-digit “number of allowances” written in Step 4 spotlights who read the instructions on the form and who didn’t.
I’d argue that it’s perfectly fine to lie on those or to mark zero. It’s just a way to calculate tax withholding. If you follow it, you’re not likely to go wrong but if you don’t, it’s all on you
when you file taxes, you need to settle up, and that may be a shock if you haven’t withheld enough
there are rules for how much you had to have withheld, and that’s going to suck when they catch those fines
IRS FAQs for W-4 say both that it’s not mandatory and how they’ll treat it if you just sign and return as in the example
I don’t believe a W-4 ever goes to the IRS, it just tells your employer how much in taxes to withhold from your pay. IRS doesn’t care, until it’s time to file taxes, then you’d better have complied with all tax regulations
Yeah, it’s called claiming
0 (zero)exempt.Not paying, but with the right information, seems a lot less risky (legally) than lying on IRS forms.
In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s a bunch of fine print on those exact documents explaining how lying on them will “fuck yo shit right up”.
Note: Exempt obviously doesn’t mean you won’t owe taxes, just that they won’t be withheld automatically on your paychecks. It’s also not uncommon in sales to go exempt for single large commission check, or bonus.
Edit: Mixed up max withholding and no withholding. Fixed now, my bad.
The backlog on catching fraud makes it worse too. People will think they’ve got a good scam going for a few years before the IRS finally gets around to busting them. By that time they have multiple years of fraud and tax evasion charges all piled up.
Which is a big deal for those who aren’t rich enough to drag it out as a never ending audit until they die of old age.
Isn’t it the other way around? Claiming zero means they take the maximum amount in taxes out. For every dependent you claim, they reduce the amount they take out. I’m sure there’s a cap but they guy probably thinks he can claim 99 and then not fill out his taxes.
FWIW the post-2020 Form W4 did away with picking a number of allowances. Now you write in a dollar figure comprised of multiples of $2000 and $500 as Step 4 states.
Seeing a low single-digit “number of allowances” written in Step 4 spotlights who read the instructions on the form and who didn’t.
You’re right, I got em switched in my early morning head. Revised to show correct terminology for no withholding.
I’d argue that it’s perfectly fine to lie on those or to mark zero. It’s just a way to calculate tax withholding. If you follow it, you’re not likely to go wrong but if you don’t, it’s all on you
There’s a HUGE difference between falsifying information (lying) on federal forms, and not having your employer withhold taxes on your paycheck.
IRS FAQs for W-4 say both that it’s not mandatory and how they’ll treat it if you just sign and return as in the example
I don’t believe a W-4 ever goes to the IRS, it just tells your employer how much in taxes to withhold from your pay. IRS doesn’t care, until it’s time to file taxes, then you’d better have complied with all tax regulations