How many exemptions should I put down?

Question

After college I went to work on cruise ships and have recently returned to the DC area permanently. I am (currently) temping and am on target to make (roughly) 26,000 this year... I don't own my apartment, I rent, and as you might expect, the DC Metropolitan area is pretty expensive... I'd rather have the money now than recieve a refund from the IRS at the end of the year.

Advice, suggestions?

Answer 1

Your tax on $26,000 of income will be around $2,200 to $2,300. If you claim single and 0 they will withhold around $3,100, and if you claim single and 1, they should withhold around $2,600. I would go ahead and file single and 1. You'll probably still get a refund, but at least you're getting some extra money while you can.

You can't claim more exemptions than yourself if you don't have children. You can request more money be taken out, but not less, so go with single with one exemption.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I'd claim one exemption. That should get you approximately where you want to be, you may be able to get away with 2, but there's a possibility you may end up owing at the end of year. 1's a safe bet.

Answer 3

Get a computer based tax package and study all the options - ther are no miracles. Nothing can beat being sincere and honest. Being married and having children gives you more options, but more responsibilities too. Owning a home is similar game. You can invest - if you are able to and get an interest income rebate later. There are not too many ways to escape the IRS.
http://bushtax.com/

Answer 4

If you don't have any children, you can only claim 1 or 0.

Claiming 0 will take the most possible out of your check, so you should claim 1.

Answer 5

If you just have one job at a time, then single-1 should bring you pretty close to even for the end of the year - if you owe, it wouldn't be much.