I'm starting a new job next week and wanted some clarification on this. I know if I claim 1 there will be less taxes taken out of my paycheck. What I want to know is, will this be a good route to take? Could this potentially lead me to owe when I'm doing my income tax? I'm single and still living at home if that matters.
You can change it as many times as you want throughout the year. You can put 1 for now, then when you get your first check that has things included such as your insurance and 401k contributions, I would recommend saving it and going here to get a better idea. If you have to change it, it's not a big deal. The closer you are to $0, the better, unless you want to purposely put in extra to get a larger refund because you're not a good saver.
Good advice from the Pugs. Stay as close to $0 (in your case, claim 1) as possible unless you want more deducted for a bigger refund.
Are you a dependent of someone? If not, you can claim either 0,1 or 2? Of course, claiming 0 will cause more tax withholding than claiming 1 or 2. But it will also probably bring you a refund when you file the tax return.
I'm a pretty good saver so I guess I would be better off keeping the extra cash instead of waiting for that refund. Thanks guys.
I'll never forget my first tax return when I turned 18 and moved to Houston. I had a co-worker that also worked at H&R... I assumed he was going to give me some type of a break.... So I go to him and figure he knew what he was doing with giving me all the tax deductions he could... so long story short I ended up OWING on my taxes ($200) and ontop of that he charged me a frigging $250 for doing the taxes,,,
How was it his fault you owed $200? I doubt you had many deductions considering you were only 18, didn't own a house, didn't pay property taxes, wasn't married, had no kid, etc.
I question why H&R would charge $250 for such a basic return. OP, sure. 1 is what I typically recommend people do.
All he had to do was ask what the charge would be and find that out. Sounds like he assumed he would get break on the fees. Regardless of how high and seemingly ridiculous the charge may be, he chose to pay it by using their services.
well like most people who do their taxes for the first time, they go the whole year truly believing they are paying too much in taxes as it is.... only to go do your taxes and find out you owe alot more. It's like getting kicked in the nuts.
Why do you think that most people doing taxes for the first time think they are paying too much? Also, it is not too difficult to find out where you stand during the year with respect to how much you may owe or get back.
Most people do not owe on their first return. Most people over withhold. Successful servers can be an exception, as they often do not make enough in wages to cover the taxes on tips.
