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View Full Version : What should I claim on my w4 to get a refund


dbarry05
Aug 2, 2010, 12:19 PM
I am 19 and am working full time . I have no dependents and own no properties. I would like to get a refund at the end of the year and not end up paying. What should I claim for my deduction?

ScottGem
Aug 2, 2010, 12:22 PM
Why would you want to get a refund? Do you like loaning your money interest free? Because that's what withholding amounts to.

If you give us an idea of what you income will be we can suggest what to put on the W4 that will get you a small refund so you don't have to pay.

dbarry05
Aug 2, 2010, 12:27 PM
Annual income 16,320.00

ebaines
Aug 2, 2010, 01:03 PM
If you follow the directions as written on the W4 you should end up just about right. Assuming that this job is your sole source of taxable income, you should claim 1 allowance for yourself (if no one else can claim you as a dependent) plus 1 for being single, for a total of 2 allowances. Come January 2011 when you calculate your taxes for 2010 if you find that either you owe taxes or are getting a big refund you can resubmit a new W4 with a different number of allowances. The goal is to get it so that you either owe a small amount or are due a small refund. As ScottGem says, it's really not a good idea to plan to overpay taxes now so as to get a big refund later. That's like overpaying your automobile insurance bill in order to get a refund when you renew - what's the point of that?

Fr_Chuck
Aug 2, 2010, 05:32 PM
Yes I try hard to estimate it so it is about even, or I have to pay just a little.

Not that interst is any good right now, but you take the money instead of paying the IRS too much, put it in a savings account, and you already have your refund on Jan 1st in the bank.

AtlantaTaxExpert
Aug 3, 2010, 08:07 AM
Claim SINGLE with TWO allowances. That way, you have the money to use to pay your bills throughout the year rather than loan it (interest-free) to the IRS.

You will have to pay a bit when you file come April of 2011, but after what ScottGem, ebaines and Fr Chuck said, that is what you WANT to do.