How many withholding allowances should I be claiming to maximize my paycheck?

Question

I am married with 5 kids and have a mortgage. I want the most out of my paycheck without having to worry about paying the state or the feds. My salary is $74k.

Answer 1

Claim 6 (yourself plus five kids).

Answer 2

How old are your kids, and does your spouse also have income?  (Notice I didn't say "does your spouse work" - with 5 kids, I think that question is already answered ;<}  )

There are 7 people, so start with that.  Then you could add an allowance for each kid under age 17 for the child tax credit.  You could possibly add a couple more, but I'd play it safe.

Use the worksheets that come with the W-4 form.  Or if nothing has changed much since 2007, look at your 2007 refund if you got one - for each $500 of your refund, you could add one allowance to what you have been claiming.

Answer 3

The IRS has a page where you can put in your information and they tell you how many deductions you should be taking.  Go here: