W4 Form- What to claim?

Question

I'm a single guy and just got a job. I hear that it is best to claim 0??? What's the difference between claiming 0 and any other number? Is one better than the other?

Answer 1

I agree with bostonianino (answer 2) except for his advice about the worksheet. It was never designed for jobs not held the entire year. If you just got a job, that applies to you. Even if it was, the withholding calculator on the IRS website is always better than the worksheet.

Answer 2

If you claim zero, you'll get a pretty substantial refund at the end of the year, at the cost of smaller paychecks on payday. You'll be making a large interest free loan to the government which is just plain dumb, IMHO.

If you claim 1, you'll get a smaller refund but larger paychecks.

If you claim 2 you'll be within $100 or so of even money with the IRS on tax day. You may have a small bill to pay or will get a small refund. However, you'll get larger paychecks on payday thoughout the year.

This assumes that you have only one job that you hold all year and no other income or deductions. If this isn't the case, fill out the worksheets on page 2 of the Form W-4 to determine the correct withholding amount for your situation.

Answer 3

If you claim 0 you will receive more of a refund at the year end, but all you are doing is letting the gov use your money.
If you can handle money, what I did was claim 3 and put 20% of my check in saving, that way on April 15th I had the money to pay my taxes plus my money made interest for me.

Answer 4

If you claim zero, you'll probably get a small refund when you file your return next year. If you claim one, you'll get a little more in each paycheck, but either a smaller refund or will owe a little when you file your return. The money comes out the same - you get it now, or at tax time.

Answer 5

Claiming "0" means that the maximum federal income tax will be taken out of your check each payroll period. If you do this, you may very well get a healthy refund at the end of the year!