What happens if I claim too many dependents on my W4?

There was an old lady who lived in a shoe. She had so many dependents she didn’t know what to do. 

So she claimed them all on her W4, and was exempt from taxes forever more.

Here’s a payroll hack that will make it so that they hardly take any taxes out of your paycheck: 

Say you have a bunch of kids. 

I mean, if your roommate eats your food out of the fridge and never does the dishes, they’re practically a dependent anyway. 

Nobody checks, so they’ll never know. 

Right?

Am I the only one who’s run into this? 

I see a 26-year-old who’s claiming seven dependents and I have questions.

“Hey, Tyler. I noticed you have seven dependents on your tax form. Usually those would be people in your immediate family who share your living expenses and rely on your income, like a spouse and kids. Are you sure that all of these people would actually be considered dependents for tax purposes?”

If Tyler says, “Yup,” I don’t ask any more questions. 

Because it’s not my place to pry. 

But when Tyler files his tax return next year, all those imaginary dependents will come home to roost. 

Because when he doesn’t have seven social security numbers, at least six of whom are earning little to no income, the IRS is going to have questions, too.

Tyler may not be audited just because his work didn’t withhold enough taxes. The IRS will probably just see it as an underpayment. 

So rather than getting money back in April, Tyler will owe a big, fat tax bill. 

And he’ll have to pay back all of those taxes he would have paid if he didn’t add a bunch of imaginary dependents to his W4. 

Plus a wee little penalty.

What's that expression about death and taxes again?

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👋 I’m Claire. I’m not licensed to give tax advice. 

Which is why I’m not asking too many questions about your home situation. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, TYLER!

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