What should I claim on my taxes allowances 0 or 1?

Question

I just got a new job making $50,000. I'm jumping into a new income bracket. I dont know what I should claim on taxes so I dont have to pay at the end of the year. I'm single, no dependents, I rent dont own. Any advice?

Answer 1

since you are single with no dependents and no house, thus you will be filing the standard deduction in April. for this reason you should use the "0" for the with-holding. They may take out a little too much, but better than not taking out enough. be sure also at your present state to take the maximum on your 401-k and your IRA if you are eligible. they will both help with your taxes at the end of the year. 2007 is almost gone, so it will not matter too much this year, but in 2008 expect to pay a lot more taxes.

Answer 2

Check early and check often. You can change your withholding at any time. You should only claim up what your are entitle to. The W4 form has a worksheet and it is a little confusing. When you get your first paycheck, you can see what amount was taken out and multiple it by the number of pay periods are left in the year and you would get an idea of what your final withholding will total. Based upon 2006 tax tables and what was indicated in your question your taxable income would be $41,550. Subtract your standard deduction $5,150 and one personal exemption of $3,300. Looking up the 2006 tax tables for a single person with a taxable income of $41,550, your taxes would be $6,951. Please understand these are 2006 figures and numbers changed every year. I suggest when the IRS comes out with their 1040 tax booklet for the next tax season in 2008 it will have current tax tables. Then start checking your paychecks in 2008.

Answer 3

If you are single and have only one job you can claim up to 2 withholding allowances -- just follow the instructions on the Form W-4.

By claiming 2 allowances you'll be looking at just about even money at tax time. You may have a small refund coming or have a small tax bill, but you'll usually be within less than $100 of even money.

If you claim 1, you'll be looking at a modest refund, probably a bit under under $1,000. If you claim zero, you'll be looking at about $2,000. The downside to this is that you'll get less money in each paycheck throughout the year and will be making an interest free loan to the government in the amount of your refund. That's not very smart, IMHO. I'd much rather pay up to $1,000 at filing time and have the money in my pocket (or bank or investment account, working FOR me) all year long.

Answer 4

As long as you don't want to owe, you can claim 2 exemptions and still get a refund.

The way the IRS formula works is you can claim 1 exemption for every $3400 in deductions that you plan on having. Since you are Single with no other dependents, your total deductions will be $8750 for this year. By claiming 2 exemptions on your W-4, you are only claiming $6800 and leaving the other $1950 unclaimed. This will be the basis of your refund.

Answer 5

If you claim one, you should be OK at the end of the year. If you claim zero, they'll take out a little more from each paycheck but you'll get the extra back at the end of the year as a refund, so either way you'll pay the same total tax, it just depends when you get it, in your paycheck or in your refund.

Answer 6

You are entitled to declare your withholding as single status with one exemption (yourself). If you want more tax withheld from each paycheck, claim zero exemptions.

Answer 7

if you put 0 the government takes the most money out of your paychecks but you get some of that money back at the end of the year.
if you put 1 they take money from your paychecks but not as much but you will have to pay at the end of the year.
i would go with 0.

Answer 8

Zero. Though there is a worksheet you can use to determine how much your taxes will be.