Will I be affected if I raise the number of whitholdings now?

Question

I work in CA and want to change the number of witholdings on my W4 form from one to three witholdings. The whole year ive had one but i find myself caring after my mom now and w4 recomends i add two more. but will that affect me when I do my taxes soon?

Answer 1

If you increase your number of dependents it basically means you'll take home more $$ with each check (less tax will be withheld).
If it turns out your dependents don't qualify, you'll be paying come April 15.

Answer 2

You'd get a little more in each paycheck and would get that much less in your refund, or could owe that much more, at tax time.

You say you are caring for your mom now, but don't say when that started. There are a number of requirements you'd have to meet to claim her as a dependent, and if you haven't provided over half of her support for the entire year, or if her income (not counting social security) is over $3400 for the year, you can't claim her. There are additional rules also.