How many can claim on my income tax form without owing money at the end of the year?

Question

I qualify to claim 7 because I am a single mother. Is that a bad idea?

Answer 1

This is a difficult question to answer online. If you have 2 jobs, you would want to claim less than if you had one, as withholding tables don't factor that in. If you want a refund, you would claim fewer exemptions. Don't depend on the little worksheet at the top of your W-3 to calculate how many exemptions your eligible for. It is grossly inaccurate. These are just a couple of the factors that affect your tax liability. Others include, children's ages, type of income, etc. Have a tax professional look at your income and your previous years return to better determine what you should claim.

Answer 2

If you have 5 children that you can claim dependency exemptions for that sounds about right.

Claiming too few exemptions just gives the government an interest-free loan of YOUR money for up to a year. That's not very smart though many people use that as a forced savings program.