Filing tax as - Head of Household

[shreekanth]

Hello,

My friend is facing this situation where his employer has filed his taxes for the first two months as a "Head of Household- Unmarried/Single" instead of "Single" status for the first two months and later on changed to the "Single" status. She is on her OPT period (After her F1 Visa) and is now worried that this will cause any issues at any point during her immigration/ visa process in the future. Please let me know to what extent we need to worry about this situation and if there is any workaround if this causes any potential issues in the future. Appreciate your help in advance.

 

[newacct]

The selection on the W-4 doesn't have to match how they file their taxes and doesn't have anything to do with immigration. It just affects how much taxes the employer withholds. A little less tax might have been withheld for Head of Household than Single, but as long as the total withholding for the year reaches a safe harbor level (90% of this year's taxes or 110% of last year's taxes), there are no tax consequences. (If she thinks that the total withholding for the year might not reach a safe harbor level, she can increase withholding for the rest of the year by adjusting her W-4 to reduce deductions and/or add extra withholding.)