NOTE FOR 2018: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was recently passed by Congress is going to change the IRS withholding tables and how we fill out W4s. Right now, we are still waiting for the IRS to supply the new withholding tables and create the new W4s. This post is about the old W4. I will be updating this as soon as I have new information. But right now, the information below is for 2017 and earlier. I do not expect the new information to be available until mid February.
-Jan
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about how many exemptions to claim on the W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate) form that you give to your employer. People look at the whole 2 page form and get intimidated. For most people—you should just ignore the rest and concentrate on the little part at the bottom of page one. That’s the part in this screen shot up above. It will make your life a whole lot easier.
First, some questions:
I claimed the wrong number of exemptions on my W-4 and now its tax time and I’m going to claim a different number of exemptions. Will I get in trouble for this?
No you won’t. Your employer doesn’t report you to the IRS for not claiming the right amount of allowances. The worst that will happen is that you owe a lot at tax time or get a big refund. (Actually I don’t think of getting a big refund as being a bad thing. Probably shouldn’t call it a “worst case scenario.”) Neither of those things are crimes. It’s possible that the IRS could inform your employer to increase your withholding if the withholding on your W2 is not enough to cover your tax liability. I have never seen that happen to anyone—but the IRS is allowed to do that if they think it’s necessary.
I don’t want any tax taken out of my paycheck. Can I just claim EXEMPT?
No you can’t. Exempt is only for people who will have no tax liability at all. You might have gotten a refund last year, but it doesn’t mean you have no tax liability. Generally, someone with no tax liability makes less than $5,950 for the entire year. For most people, claiming EXEMPT is a really bad idea.
Okay, so what should I claim? Good question. Here’s my suggestion list. See what category fits your best.
You are a student, either in high school or in college. You’re not married and you don’t have kids. Your parents are allowed to claim you on their tax return (you’re under 24 years old.) SINGLE, ZERO ALLOWANCES
You’ve got a job, only one job, you’re living on your own, and you’re single. SINGLE, ONE ALLOWANCE
Now if you have a child, add another allowance for each child. For example, let’s say you’re single with 2 kids, you’d claim single 3 allowances; one allowance for you and one for each of the children.
Single like above but you’re working two different jobs, SINGLE, ZERO ALLOWANCES – because the two jobs kick you into a higher tax bracket than the withholding would show.
You’re married and only one person works: MARRIED, TWO ALLOWANCES
You’re married and you both work—you’ll each have your own W-4 and they will be different
Spouse #1 with higher paying job—claim MARRIED and all the allowances for the family
Spouse #2 with the lower paying job—claim MARRIED BUT WITHHOLD AT HIGHER SINGLE RATE, ZERO ALLOWANCES
Now this is a pretty simplified guide, but it’s much easier to understand than what is on the form. I also find that people are less likely to get into tax trouble with my rules than when you follow the allowances worksheet.
If you want a really good, accurate calculator to figure your proper withholding, the IRS has one on their website. The problem is, as I’m posting this—the calculator is down. You can use this guide for now and you can always tweak your withholding later when it’s back up. Here’s the link: http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator
Hi Kayla,
W4s are confusing. I’m guessing that for you, you should claim 3 exemptions and your husband should still claim single zero. But, that’s a guess. Once you two get your first paychecks of the year, go to the IRS website and try the W4 withholding calculator. That will give you a pretty accurate withholding figure. Or, waiting until you’ve finished your taxes to be sure. But the IRS withholding calculator will be the most accurate way to figure your withholding. http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator
Hi,
So, I live with my mother in law and my boyfriend whom I have 2 kids with. I did not get a chance to change my w-4 last year so I had exemption of 0. So, yes I understand my income was withheld more than an exemption of 1. Now my b.f will be filing head of household with 2 kids, the house and a car under his name with an unusual income of less than 30k a year. Long story short, the house is under his name because thats how his mom wanted it. Yet, she pays for our mortgage every month. He’s filed h.o.h for 2 years with no problem, but I understand at the end of the year his mom is screwed since she cannot claim the money she has paid towards the house. Now, my question is what is the best way to manage filing our taxes with such (what I feel) is a complicated situation. Would I be able to claim the children under myself? or at least 1? Should I change my exemptions to 2 for this year? Is it best for my b.f to claim the kids and everything else he can for tax deductions. I believe his exemptions is 2. So confused about everything, we file through turbotax for the past 5 years with no problem. Still single and not married but living under the same roof for almost 10 years. Our children are 1 and 5. HELP!!!!!
I’m always so confused about the W4 form. I’m married, both my husband I work (making less than 60,000 a year), & we just had a baby in December. I think previously we both filed the w4 as Married but withhold at a single rate. I make more than my husband. How should we both update our W4s now?
Hi Mary,
At less than $30,000 a year and being a mother of two, you should qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit which should really help you boost your refund. If I were you, I’d claim 3 exemptions, one of yourself plus two for your children. That should give you more in your take home pay — you gotta eat, right? And it should still give you a refund for 2015.
Hi Ive always been confused about taxes. I am a single mom of two, live in Arizona and have a full time job. I have recently changed it to 1 (which was recommended by a co-worker) but I don’t feel confident about that number, I make less than 30,000 a yr. Being single a mother I always worry about having to pay taxes. I do like a good refund at the end of the year but can never figure out what would be the correct number. Please Help! Thank You!
@ Kristen again,
Sorry, I was reading the emails one at a time. I’d fill out the Louisiana form the same way as the federal.
@ Kristen again,
You’re right, paying your mother’s mortgage won’t help you unless the house is yours.
Hi Kristen,
normally I don’t recommend claiming a bunch of exemptions to get a bigger pay check, but under your circumstances I think that’s exactly what you need to do. Just make sure you change your W4 once you start making some money. You can use the IRS W4 calculator to help you commensate for any tax you should have withheld earlier.
And congratulations on the new job!
Also, I see on the hiring portal — W4 tax withholding (Important Note: If you have state or local taxes, please contact payroll@moodmedia.com to set up your additional tax withholdings) I live in Louisiana and I am sure we have state taxes. Do I contact payroll and set up the same number withholdings as I do with Federal to barely take any taxes out. Thanks again for your help!
also, I am not sure paying my mothers mortgage (which is where I live) will qualify me for that deduction come tax time. I am guessing she would have to put me on the mortgage.
Hello, I am re entering the traditional workforce in sales at a new company tomorrow and need to fill out all the paperwork. In the beginning three months it is a ridiculously low pay and I need most all of the paycheck. I will be getting commissions after that and can even it out later and redo my w-4 later in the year. I dont care about owing in April, I just need to survive and get a jump start. It is a home office job and I will be using my car, so I will have those exemptions. I also pay the mortgage on my mothers house. Can I fill out my w-4 form with 8 exemptions. and does this number reflect both federal and state. thanks in advance
Hi LP,
For college students with internships, generally I recommend claiming single 0. That way, they’re covered if they make enough money for taxes. Also, if they didn’t make enough money to have any tax liability, then they get a refund. College students generally like getting refunds. (Okay, everybody likes refunds!)
If you say “exempt” and they worked enough to have any kind of tax liability they’re going to owe. And I think for a college student to have to pay taxes is much worse than having a little withholding while working and getting a refund.
Hi, my son is a college student and will be doing a paid internship over winter break (about 4-5 weeks). Earlier this year he had a part-time job for about 7 months. We can’t recall what exemption he put on the W4 form for the previous part-time job and we’re now trying to figure out what he should put for this internship. Reading the info here it would seem like he should either do “single, zero deductions” or “exempt”. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
LP
Hi Tony,
You’re going to want to claim maybe 10 exemptions, and then switch it back for January.
Now, you might want to claim 1 exemption. Unless you’re working two jobs–then you’ll want to keep it at zero, but if you’re only working one job at a time, and no one can claim you, you can probably get away with claiming one exemption. It will give you a little more money in your paycheck and you shouldn’t owe too much tax–you should about break even.
Of course, if you want a refund, then stick with claiming single with zero exemptions.
Hi Audra,
You’re doing just fine claiming 4 on your tax return. Yes, you’ll get a bigger refund if you only claim 2, but 4 is just fine for you. Because you have three children and your income is only $19K for this year, you’ll still qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit and that should give you a nice refund. Even next year when you’re earning 27K you’ll still qualify for EIC so that’s all good.
So yes, you’ll get a bigger refund by withholding more, but you also want to make sure you get enough money every week to feed your family and pay the rent. Personally, I would stick with claiming 4 exemptions.
Oh, and I do expect you to get a nice refund for 2014–so take a good chunk of that money and stick it in a savings account to help you save for a rainy day. (Gee, now I sound like my mother, but that’s really good advice so I’ll give her credit.) And remember to take a little bit of that money and do something nice for yourself too. I suspect that you’re the kind of mom that does everything for your kids, so I want to make sure you do something nice for yourself too.
I am a single mother of 3, and work full time (40+/hrs/week). I am completely confused about what I should be claiming on my w-4, and by reading all of the previous comment/questions, I think that I will maybe break even when filing this year.
For the entire time that I have worked at this job (April – what will be Dec), I have been claiming 4 on my w-4. But recently, I had a friend tell me that I would get more back on my return if I had only claimed 2. Is this true?
As long as I don’t owe anything this year, I’ll be happy with that, however, I would like to plan on having a larger tax return for next year, what should I be claiming in order for that to happen?
I currenly make, 27K/year (but only a little over 19K in 2014, because I only worked part of the year), and single parent with 3 dependents.
Thanks, in advance.
I claimed 0 for 11 months out of the year and don’t want any taxes taken out for the last month. what do I claim? I plan on changing it back to zero in time for my first check of the year. need some extra cash. How do I go about this or is it even a good idea?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Marcia,
I don’t know what you should claim. You say you’re head of household. How many kids do you have?
You mentioned 2 jobs? Did you have the jobs at the same time or at different times?
Your best bet is probably going to the IRS website and doing the IRS Withholding calculator.
If I am single and head of household and I had 2 jobs this year, what do I put as exemptions or allowances I didn’t file taxes last year because I didn’t work at all in 2013 I was a student
Hi. I wrote you on Nov. 1 why did you skip over my question?
Hi Ian,
I prefer to have single people only claim 1 on their tax returns. But it’s so close to the end of the year, if you wind up owing, you’ll just adjust next year. If you don’t owe, then don’t change.
Hi Johnni,
The best thing for you to do is go to the IRS withholding calculator and input your numbers. It will give you a pretty solid idea of where you stand.
I am single, renting an apartment, and have only one job. I also make monthly student loan payments. I claim 2 allowances since line A says to claim 1 if no one else can claim me, and line B says claim 1 if ‘ You are single and have only one job.’ So, that makes 2. Is that ok? I don’t really care about getting a large refund, and would prefer not to give the government an interest free loan.
Thanks!
Hi KJ,
I’m sorry but I don’t know how many exemptions you were claiming before. And I don’t know how much money you made or make now.
You’ve got two issue–the first is, the year is almost over, so you could probably claim 20 exemptions to get your withholding down to zero for the rest of the year.
But then, you’d need to change it in January. I’m thinking that 4 exemptions would be just fine for you. (Just guessing, I don’t have all the information I need but that’s my guess.)
The best thing is to go to the IRS withholding calculator.
hey i have a question. my husband claimed 3 all this year. i thought he claimed 0 like the usual. so when it comes time to file, how is that going to affect our tax return
I have made about 11,000 grosse. I have been claiming 2 allowances on accident. I should have only been claiming 1. Do you think I will owe?
Married-filing jointly-1 job- 1 dependent (our daughter)
last year I received a large refund in the sum near $4k. I would like to continue receiving a tax refund equal/greater than $1500 but would also like to adjust exemptions to make more on my paycheck. What would you recommend and how much extra would a make per paycheck if I claim 4 exemptions?
Thanks!
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT SO MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS TIFFANY!
Hi Tiffany, do I have your attention?
Good, this is important. You got married last February. You say you are going to file separate. You are married, there are only two filing statuses that you are allowed: married filing jointly or married filing separate.
YOU MAY NOT FILE AS HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD. You need to see that, because that would be considered income tax fraud.
You didn’t say you were going to do that, it’s just I wanted to make sure that you saw that and know that. It’s a pretty common mistake that people with a child make and I didn’t want you to get into trouble for that.
Here’s why I’m worried, if you’re filing married filing separately–you might potentially be losing tax benefits for your child, like EIC. Maybe you make too much and that’s not an issue anyway.
Now, as far as your W4 form with your employer is concerned. Claiming single and 1 is not a problem at all. And, even filing as married filing separate, if you’re claiming your child then you won’t owe. Even if you have your husband claim your child instead, you should not owe since you’ve been withholding for one anyway.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been married for 30 years and I still withhold as single with zero exemptions. The W4 forms that we file with our employers aren’t for reporting to the IRS, it’s just saying how much money we want our employer to take out of our paycheck to pay towards our taxes. When you say married or single on those forms it’s just telling the payroll clerk what chart to take your tax withholding off of. The single chart has a higher withholding tax rate than the married chart. That’s really all it is.
Hi Amy,
Claim 1 exemption. Do not claim exempt.
About HR laughing in your face about the W4–Ha! Forget them. The W4 messes people up. Why else do you think so many people are asking questions here?
True story, I used to work for one of the big income tax companies. I forget what year it was but we had a big issue because a very large percentage of our employees had filled out their W4s incorrectly. The employees at the income tax company. We’re supposed to know that stuff! I don’t remember if it made the news or not but it was a big deal in the company and of course, we had to do a whole bunch of training on it.
And hey, good luck on your new job!
Hi Jennifer,
If you came to my office and sat down with me, I would charge a fee for doing that analysis. These forum type questions, I don’t actually run the numbers through a program. I do run a business so I can’t give away my product, right?
So without running your numbers through the program, I’d recommend 3 not 5. Here’s why–your husband still makes $30,000 which bumps up your tax bracket.
Hi Alice,
You’re a senior in high school working at part-time jobs. Many students working at part time jobs claim exempt. It means that no federal taxes are taken out of their paychecks. Social security and medicare still get taken out no matter what.
So how do you tell if you should claim exempt or use 0 exemptions?
That’s a smart question. (So I hope you’re applying to a good college because you’re smart.)
The easy answer is to just claim 0 exemptions and you know you won’t have a problem. File a tax return and you’ll get whatever is left as a refund.
The harder answer–(but you’re smart so you’re worth the tougher answer) is think ahead about how much money you’re going to make for the whole year.
If you make $10 an hour and work 15 hours a week, that’s $150 a week. That kind of stuff. How much did you make over the summer? How much will you make before the year is out?
Once you’ve figured that out–is it more or less than $6,100? If it’s less, go ahead and claim exempt. If it’s more, then you’ll want to claim 0 exemptions.
The reason is, if you’re a student, living with your parents, they claim you as an exemption on their tax return. $6,100 is the amount of money you can claim for a standard deduction. Anything about that amount gets taxed.
Many high school students get away with claiming exempt because they don’t make over the $6,100 (or whatever the standard deduction is for the year.) But, some students who work full time over the summer or just make more money need to have some withholding because they cross that $6100 threshold.
What’s the worst that could happen? If you claim exempt but wind up owing, you just pay the tax. I hate having to pay the tax, but that’s it. You won’t get in trouble or anything like that. Just don’t claim exempt again because you’ll know you have to pay taxes.
If you claim zero exemptions and didn’t need to? Then the worst is that you file a tax return and get your money back. Once again, you’re not in trouble, you’ve done nothing wrong.
Bottom line is that there’s no big downside either way.
Hi
I got married back in February I haven’t changed the status on my employer forms they still say single and one I do have a child. We are going to file seperate and I will be claiming my child. Will I be okay when filing as long as I change my status to married before being submitted for my refund. Or will I owe???
hi I am very confused about the Form W 4 I will start a job part time seasonal at 4am well actually training videos and I don’t know what none of this means I’ve never had a job actually kind of embarrassed to say and I am trying to finish applying the second part to the application and I don’t know what to put on this form I have one child not married. I am not a student I live with mom she used to claim me now she just claims my child ….graduated HS back on 2010 I am 23yr if that helps because I need it can’t sleep thinking about if. I bet the HR will laugh in my face. This makes it even more confusing it says this:
Claim Exemption
I claim exemption from withholding for 2014, and I certify that I meet both of the following conditions for exemption:
Last year I had a right to a refund of all Federal income tax withheld because I had no tax liability and
This year I expect a refund of all Federal income tax withheld because I expect to have no tax liability.
If you meet both conditions, check ‘Exempt’ here.help
Hi Nicole,
At $12,000 you’ll probably wind up owing. You should have claimed zero exemptions. My gut guess (realize that I haven’t seen your w2, I don’t know the whole story or anything) but just my gut says that you’ll owe a little under $400.
Now you can reduce that a bit by changing your withholding to take more out of your check now. Or just save up the money for tax time.
The best way to know for sure how much you’re going to owe is take your last paystub and run the numbers through the IRS withholding calculator. http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/IRS-Withholding-Calculator
That should give you a much more accurate figure than my “shoot from the hip” guesstimate. But I’d be really surprised if you owed more than $400.
My fiance and I will be marrying in January 2015, with a baby on the way in March. I’ll be making $64,000 and he’ll make about $30,000 between a seasonal job and unemployment. I get that I should claim all the exemptions and he should claim married, single rate, 0; but how many exemptions should I claim for myself? I will divert $4,800 into a flex account for dependent care for the baby (which means I won’t be taking the child care expense credit). I tried the worksheets, and came up with five. One exemption for myself, him, and the baby; then two more exemptions on the baby for the Child Tax Credit. Is five correct, or should I put just three? We’d like to get our refund close to zero, without having any danger of owing.
I’m confused on how to fill out this form correctly- I am 17 in senior year of high school and I’m trying to me cautious on how to fill out the form properly. This is my 2nd part time job I am filing for, at minimum wage, however I will only work the two jobs at once for about a month. I’ve had internships this year that were tax exempt but I’m not sure if that contributes to anything (but it was mentioned in the calculator).My confusion is due to coworkers saying they could claim exempt, however I claim 0 allowances, correct?
So I am a bit confused. I am 22 years old and have a child. My fiance claims our child on his taxes. So since I am a full time student also and work part time, my mom still claims me on her taxes. Now when I started my part time job I claimed 1 for myself on the W-4. My mom is claiming me also though. So since i am only part time will that mess me up? Will I have to owe or will I not get anything back. I only make 12,000 a year. I also spoke to my HR manager about the situation and he said that since I only work part time it should not affect me during tax season.
Please let me know.
Hi Damian,
That’s not wrong or unusual. Actually, I think you’re being pretty smart.
My wife and I recently married. I was unemployed for most of the year, and recently started working. I make more on a monthly basis than my wife, but she has worked all year. My question is, would it be unusual or wrong for both of us to claim 0 exemptions on the W-4 to try to get cover taxes and maybe ensure a refund at the end of the year?
Thank you so much, it was very helpful and i am so greatful for your help
Hi Michelle,
First, I would claim single and 1 exemption Normally I’d have you claim much more–but because you’ve got two jobs–it messes with the withholding and they don’t take enough out. To get it absolutely right, go to the IRS withholding calculator and use both of your last pay stubs and claim one child as an exemption. That will give you the best answer.
Now–about who gets to claim the kids. You sound like a really nice, wonderful person. Nice people sometimes get stepped on. So let me be your not so nice friend, okay?
You have custody of the children 75% of the time. You have full rights to claim both children for head of household, the child tax credit, the exemptions, and EIC, and the child care credit. Your ex aint got nothin’. You are in the position of power. You need to know that.
Now–doing the right thing. If you two are on good terms, you may work together to determine what’s the best filing status for the four of your as a family and use the money for the health and well being of the children. This only works with people who are basically decent people. Let me remind you that you are recently single–so perhaps there may be a reason you don’t think he’s decent any more. But–if he is decent–this might be the best option.
Now, if you don’t trust him 100% but you’re willing to work with him. You can split the exemptions. This is the legal technical part–you keep the head of household and the EIC and you let him claim the exemptions, but he files as single. This is a standard kind of solution in many divorces.
Or–if you don’t trust him at all, or he’s not being responsible–then remember, you’ve got the power in this scenario.
Do not–just let him claim everything and expect him to give you half the money. Women do this all the time and then come crying to me when their ex uses his tax refund to go buy an engagement ring for his new woman. You cannot believe how many times I’ve heard that story. If you are going to let him claim the kids and split the refund with you–then I suggest that you two go file your taxes together and you be sitting there when he e-files and has half the refund direct deposited into your bank account. Two kids claimed on your tax return in your income bracket is worth a lot of refund money that can be used to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Don’t give it up too easily
First off let me say thank you for your help.. now to the question, I am a recently single parent of 2, and we decided to share custody so no child support on either end will be paid, even though i have my daughters 75% of the time. My biggest concern is that when tax time comes around he wants to claim one of the kids and i will claim the youngest, who is 4. I have 2 full time jobs and im considered a full time college student, mostly classes online, Earning a little over 25000 a year with both incomes for both jobs, will i end up having to pay when tax time comes around, or should i let him claim both and just split the tax money 50/50? Please help!!!
Hi JB,
You’re paying back taxes through payroll deductions Forgive me for being blunt but, that’s not a good sign. And clearly, you’re not withholding enough to pay your 2014 taxes. The IRS is concerned.
Here’s why, by your own admission you should probably be claiming 3 or 4 allowances but you’ve been claiming 7. That tells me your setting yourself up to owe taxes for 2014 in addition to 2013.
So are they being a little parental? Yes. And I get that that’s annoying, but unless you have a plan for how to pay the tax debt you’re going to have in April because you’re not withholding enough, then you can’t really blame them for being concerned.
Hi Ryan,
I can’t run numbers for you here. I make my living running the numbers so I would be charging for that. You can get a really good clue as to what you’re going to owe by going to the IRS website and running the withholding calculator.
Now if you wind up owing, the IRS won’t just take it out of the next year’s taxes. They are going to want you to make some sort of arrangement to pay them.
I suggest that you withhold extra now to avoid paying even more later. Then, in January, switch back to single with none.
Hi Maritza,
If you didn’t claim any children on your W4 then you are withholding more money than if you had claimed chidren. So–I’m guessing that if your husband is also withholding, then you should be fine and not owe taxes. (If your husband isn’t withholding anything–you could still wind up owing. You can check on the IRS withholding calculator. I’ve got a couple of links to it in other comments.)
When you file your taxes, you’re going to file as married filing jointly and you’ll claim the kids together.
I am single & 62 yrs old w/no children & had raised my personal allowances w/my employer. After being approved by the IRS months ago to pay back taxes for 2013 through an automatic payroll deduction (I owe $1200), (Note: I had never been delinquent in all my previous working yrs). I then recd a notice from the IRS stating that my allowance may be too high . The raising of the allowance aided me in paying on an underwater mortgage which had adjusted up $400 during the market crash. (I have yet to be approved for a modification) I then raised the allowance back down so I don’t owe that much for next year. (I only raised them earlier after being told by my realtor that many people raise them to get more monies up front to aid w/expenses. I may be too naive, but I did not know this could be wrong). Since I itemize, I always recd extra from the State anyway, but 2013 was a bad year due to financial challenges aggravated by the higher mortgage payment.) Why would the IRS ding someone who has always paid their taxes & only had one challenge which they know is being paid? Is there sometimes any mercy for hardship in this situation? I am trying to avoid bankruptcy & also want to keep my home.(My house taxes are also due to adjust up soon!) I also hope to finally obtain a modification soon. After re-reviewing the matter, it appears I could probably claim 3 or 4 allowances, but this would not give me enough net pay. I had been claiming 7.) Some people claim more than this and never receive anything from the IRS!
I have claimed 9 for most of the year even though I should be claiming single and none… I’ve made 25000 so far this year and onmy payed 785.00 fed tax this year… I changed it to single and none for the last month until the end of the year… question is how much will I pay when I have to do my taxes and if u owe a bunch could i just have them take it out of my return next year?
Hello my husband and i are both working full time jobs , and we have two children. but i didn’t put any dependents on my tax job sheet. Are we gonna have to pay at the end of the year? and can we all file together but let my husband claim the kids?
Hi Tony,
You can still claim head of household. You probably won’t be able to claim your fiance’ as a dependent anymore now that she’s working. Of course, you can still claim the kids.
Your daughter makes so little, she’s probably just fine right now with no federal withholding. If she works full time in the summer, or makes more money, she might want to switch her withholding to zero exemptions.
Your fiance is right to claim one exemption. I’m assuming that you will keep the kids as your dependents on your return.
That said, since you’re not married–you might want to play around with that at tax time. Depending upon her income, it may make sense to have her claim one or two of the children because her income is so low she should qualify for EIC. You should still be head of household though–she would be single with dependents if you did that.
You can actually go to the “do your own taxes” section here and mess around with the numbers to see how it would play out.
Hi Samantha,
If you’re not “head of household” then I’m guessing that you have someone else claiming your daughter, or maybe someone else is supporting you two. If that’s the case, claim one exemption because now that you’re working, you probably can’t be claimed by someone else anymore. That will give you a little extra money for each paycheck. If you still get to claim your daughter as a dependent, just not claim head of household, then claim two exemptions. But if you’re looking for the biggest refund, keep claiming zero exemptions.