I am only earning member of family and my family lives overseas. My parents are retired and I am sending money for them every month. Also I am paying for my brother's education. Can I claim them as dependant in W4 form? How many allowances can I claim?
2007-01-05 04:56:20 · 6 answers · asked by nik 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
Strangely, you can put down WHATEVER number you like! There is no law!
The bigger the number of exemptions, the LESS federal tax withheld from your pay.
HOWEVER, a big caveat....if you don't have enough tax withheld from your pay, you may get a nasty shock next April when you have to pony up the tax money. In fact, if you are more than $1000 in the hole on APril 15, you will likely be subject to additional penalties.
As a general rule of thumb, for a SINGLE person, each exemption will change your end-of-year tax bill by about $300-350 assuming no other unusual credits or deductions.
AS FOR DEPENDENTS, you may be supporting family members, but they have to meet certain tests for you to claim them on your tax return. If they are family and are US Citizens, you generally should be OK unless they are over 18 and earn more than $3300 last year. If they are not US citizens, they must reside in US, CAN or MEX only and still meet the other tests.
The WealthBuilder
Enrolled Agent / Tax Specialist
2007-01-05 05:49:55 · answer #1 · answered by WealthBuilder 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you don't have any dependents, but are thinking you should check the head of household box because you are the sole provider - you are NOT head of household for tax purposes, that's only if you have a dependent. If you only have one job though, and are talking about line B, then yes you could put 1 there, for a total of 2. If you claim 2 allowances, you could end up owing a fairly small amount when you file. Claiming 1 would probably be better. You say you just graduated. If you haven't been working, or haven't made much, during the first half of the year, you could probably get away with claiming 2 until the end of the year, but then I'd consider switching to 1. Depending on your income, you will very possibly be able to take an adjustment to income for at least part of your student loan interest - that won't help a lot this year since you'll just have December, but could help next year since you'll be paying all year.
2016-05-23 06:08:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wealthbuilder's answer has a lot of good info.
You wouldn't be able to claim your brother on your tax return since it doesn't sound like he lives with you. If your parents meet all of the other tests to be claimed as dependents, you can claim them on your return as dependents even if they don't live with you - parents but not brothers, are an exception to that rule.
2007-01-05 16:03:33 · answer #3 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. They have to live with you
2. You have to prove that they are your dependents.
3. If you have legal dependents whether it be 2 or 20 you can claim them all.
2007-01-05 05:06:24 · answer #4 · answered by cateyes 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Consult a tax professional.
2007-01-05 04:58:15 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
unlimited, but be carefull. the lesser you pay during the year, the bigger tax bill surprise will wait for you when you file tax return
2007-01-05 07:29:40 · answer #6 · answered by alikmal 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋