How to calculate my community property withholdings

Generally, to calculate your community property withholdings, follow these steps:

Steps to Calculate Community Property Withholdings

1. Determine Total Income: Add up the total income earned by both spouses.
2. Split Income 50/50: In community property states, income is generally split equally between spouses. Divide the total income by 2.
3. Adjust Withholdings: Each spouse will report half of the total income. Adjust the tax withholdings accordingly:
   • Addition/Subtraction: If one spouse earned more, subtract the excess from their income and add it to the other spouse's income.

Example Calculation

• Total Income: $100,000 (Spouse A) + $60,000 (Spouse B) = $160,000
• Split Income: Each spouse reports $80,000
• Adjustments: Spouse A subtracts $20,000, Spouse B adds $20,000

Enter Withholding information into TurboTax:

To enter and adjust for community property with holdings  in TurboTax see instructions at Married Filing Separately in Community Property States

Other Helpful Articles

• Five Tax Tips for Community Property States
• Form 8958: Allocation of Tax Amounts

Original Post