could you in all actuallity really claim like 15 of so? I thought you could only claim yourself, spouse and kids legitimatly. We really needed the money last year so with a family of 5 we claimed 12 exemptions...Is that legal? I wondered if anyone knows....
2007-02-15 10:10:21 · 5 answers · asked by ntwrkadmngrl 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
When you file your W-4, you can claim as many withholding allowances as you want. If you itemize, such as for mortgage interest and property taxes, the amount of the itemized deductions that exceeds the standard deduction is converted to additional withholding allowances. Also, when working out the withholding allowances to report on the W-4, if your children qualify for the child tax credit, the credit can account for additional withholding allowances as well.
For example, I have three kids. However, because I have mortgage interest and property taxes (and where I live, property taxes are extremely high and mortgages are large), as well as taking the state tax deduction and deduction for charitable contributions, I claim 25 federal withholding allowances....and I still get a refund back at the end of the year.
2007-02-15 10:25:02 · answer #1 · answered by jseah114 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
On a W-4. they're actually called allowances, not exemptions, because there are many other reasons than exemptions why you might claim them to lower your withholding.
If claiming more allowances than you're really entitled to causes you to have less withheld than your total taxes for the year, then when your file you'll owe the rest. Depending on how much the difference is, you might also owe penalties for underwithholding.
If your three kids are all qualifying for you to get the child tax credit for them, this might even be reasonable and might not have you owing when you file your return.
Good luck.
2007-02-15 15:33:21 · answer #2 · answered by Judy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as enough taxes are withheld to cover your tax liability, it doesn't matter how many exemptions you claim on Form W4. If you claim too many, not enough tax will be withheld and you may face penalties and interest for underwithholding of tax when you file your tax return.
Normally a single-earner family of 5 would claim 6 withholding exemptions at most. This assumes that they do not qualify for the EITC, and take the standard deduction. This would leave them at near zero-balance at tax time, somewhere between a $50.00 refund and a $50.00 tax due.
2007-02-15 10:50:02 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you are talking about your W-4, you can claim as many as you want. That's not wise because you will probably be under-withheld. If you claim more than 10, the IRS must have documentation to prove that this is accurate (a tax estimation).
2007-02-15 11:10:17 · answer #4 · answered by Dizney 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I do not think that claiming more dependents than you really have is legal. Never mind the legalities of what the employer withholds, how are you ever going to come up with the money to pay taxes, when you did not have enough to live on through the year?
2007-02-15 10:37:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋