I was wondering what to claim on my W-4 form. I am single, one job, and have no children.?

Question

My friend told me that single people with no children are suppose to claim 2 on the W-4 form . He also sad that they don't take out much tax on his check and you get back less for income tax. Is there any truth to this? and if so what is the percentage tax taken out.

Answer 1

hi - the irs has a great site where they help you figure out the right answer for you.  irs.gov or google tax return and it will come up.  you dont wnat to over pay taxes (its basically giving a loan to the gov't without getting any interest on it), but you dont want to underpay either (at least not by too much, or they will charge you penalty fees).  You should aim for either getting a small check back from them, or writing them a small one, and by small i mean under $100 each way if you can.  Its hard to figure it all out that close, but spend some time on the gov't site and you should get close.  if you come within $200 that would be great.  Dont listen to people who say its great to get a big check back in the spring, if you have that much you can loan the gov't interest free then you can save it in an interest bearing account too!  good luck!

Answer 2

What your friend told you is correct.  Each allowance that you claim is worth $3500 in deductions this year.  You can find out more by reviewing IRS Publication 15.

Answer 3

Two is fine to claim - you'll come fairly close at the end of the year, since you'll have gotten extra in each paycheck.

The percentage will depend on your total income

Answer 4

The more you claim on your W-4, the less they take out for taxes.  Then in April, you either get a small return or end up owing taxes.