Does anyone know anything about the W-4 Tax Form?

Question

Okay, I am a high school student that works at one of the school cafeterias and i need to know how to fill out a W-4 Tax Form and this is my first time to do anything like this, does anyone know how to fill it out?

Answer 1

The instructions are pretty self-explanatory. Do you have a specific question about one of the line items?

The W-4 form tells your employer how much to withhold from your paycheck for income taxes. The more exemptions you list, the less will be withheld. So it's tempting to list more exemptions so you can get a bigger paycheck, but the downside is that you will owe taxes - and possibly a penalty - when you file your tax return. Some people actually like to list fewer exemptions than they are entitled to so they can get a refund when they file their taxes, but this is basically giving the government an interest-free loan! So the best thing to do is just follow the instructions, and report the number of exemptions that result.

Assuming you have nothing unusual going on (ie: are an emancipated minor, have children of your own, have more than one job, etc), following the instructions on the W-4 will likely result in your reporting one exemption.

Answer 2

If you checked "exempt" in previous jobs and they still took out federal income taxes, then they ignored the "exempt" - what "exempt" says is you don't expect to owe any federal income tax, and didn't in the previous year, and the employer shouldn't deduct federal income tax. They will still or course take out social security and medicare, and depending on where you live, might take out state and/or local taxes. If you are not a dependent of your parents, and your total income for the year will be under $8750, then you can probably claim exempt - if you will make more than that, then you can't.

Answer 3

The instructions are right on the form.

Since you are almost certainly going to be claimed as a dependent on your parents' tax return, you should claim Single and zero exemptions if you think there is any chance that you will earn more than $3,300 in the entire year.