What should i be claiming on taxes?

Question

I am a single 21 year old and i have a full time job making about 21,000 a year, I have no kids and no husband. I live on my own and pay all my bills myself. I would like to receive more on my checks and get less back but i don't want to end up paying a lot at the end of the year. what should i be claiming?

I am a single 21 year old and i have a full time job making about 21,000 a year, I have no kids and no husband. I live on my own and pay all my bills myself. I would like to getting the most I can out of my paychecks but I don't want to end up paying a lot at the end of the year. I am right now claiming 1 and I feel like they are taking too much out. If I start claiming 2 will that give me more on my check or less? I claimed 1 last year and didn't have to pay anything and I got a little back. I'm not concerned with how much I get back I would just like to see some more $ on my check. Please help me out!!

Answer 1

www.paycheckcity.com can help you figure out what you should have withheld.

Answer 2

If you claim 0 now, try claiming 1 and seeing how it affects your paycheck. I would try claiming 2 to get the most you can out of your paycheck. I used to do this when I was younger and because my salary was on the lower end, I really didn't owe anything at the end of the year - sometimes I'd get a small refund and sometimes I'd pay a little bit as my salary grew.

As long as the government is getting what they calculate that you owe on a regular basis, you can claim 1 or 2 and most likely still be sending them the taxes you owe on your salary.

At $21,000 your federal tax bracket is 15%. Which means you pay 10% of the first $7825 of your salary and 15% of the rest.

So you owe:

10% of $7825 = $782.50
Plus
15% of the rest ($13175) = $1976.25

the total you owe the IRS would be $2758.75 for the entire year, which is about 13% of your total salary.

Then, find the tax rates for your state and do the same calculation to find out how much you'll owe the state at the end of the year.

Then, take your whole salary, minus the taxes you owe:

$21,000
-$2,758.75
-$1,241.25 (I'm estimating your state taxes here)
------------------
$17,000

That leaves you with $17,000 after taxes that you owe.

Divide that by 52 weeks for the whole year:

$326.92

That is what your weekly take-home pay should be. If it is HIGHER, you'll owe money at tax time. If it is LOWER, you'll get a refund.

If it is higher, lower your withholdings.

If it is lower, raise your withholdings.

Answer 3

Either claim single/one allowance on your W-4 if you want to come real close to breaking even for tax time, or single/zero allowances if you want to be absolutely sure you don't owe even a small amount - you'd probably get a few hundred dollar refund. If you have more than one job, you'd be wise to claim single/0.

Answer 4

You should be claiming single and one on the W-4 form. That is supposed to get you close by IRS standards to your actual tax liability.