Anyone give some tax advice?

Today | Yours Truly

[Ghost of SVR4]

Additionally, any hints or tips on keeping my money instead of getting a refund? If I have to pay a couple hundred on April 15, I am fine with that, but NO MORE LOANS to Uncle Sam.

Thanks all...

[RebelTXRose]

adp.com

They have calculators - now toward the bottom of the home page. I use them whenever something changes for hubby / son’s checks.

[1rudeboy]

Claim zero exemptions to maximize your take-home. Be prepared to write a check on April 15th.

If there are kids involved, be careful if you choose to claim them . . . if the mother does, prepare for a world of hurt.

[Jeff Chandler]

I am going to share with you the best tax advise you could receive:

Talk to an accountant.

[DannyTN]

Payroll Calculator

[1rudeboy]

I was going to advise that the best tax advice is, don't solicit tax advice on the internet.

[Errant]

Claim zero exemptions to maximize your take-home.

Uh, no.... You claim every exemption you are entitled to, to maximize your take-home pay...

[Errant]

NO MORE LOANS to Uncle Sam.

Exactly! Good for you.

[Ghost of SVR4]

Mother cannot. They live with me full time and that is easily verified. Thanks for the reply..

[Ghost of SVR4]

Thanks for the link, going to check it out..

[Ghost of SVR4]

I plan to do that in 2014 actually. For now, I am still working the Ramsey plan to cut away more debt that is pressing so I can afford an accountant! :)

[MD Expat in PA]

Claim zero exemptions to maximize your take-home. Be prepared to write a check on April 15th.

Hum, no. Claiming zero exemptions on your W-4 will result in the most amount of federal taxes being withheld. The more withholding exemptions you claim on your W-4, the less amount of tax is withheld.

[oh8eleven]

Anyone give some tax advice?
Yeah, don't ask IRS.
When I had a tax problem about 10 years ago, I called the IRS in Rochester, then Buffalo and then Syracuse.
Got three different answers.

[DannyTN]

"Claim zero exemptions to maximize your take-home. Be prepared to write a check on April 15th."

1rudeboy is confused as usual. zero exemptions will maximize your tax withholdings, not your take-home. The more exemptions you claim the less tax withheld and the higher your take home.

You can download a W4 form and use the worksheet to help calculate how many exemptions you should claim.

However, the advice posted earlier about the ex is valid. In the absence of a legal agreement on how to split the tax credits, the person who gets to claim them is who the kids live with more than 50% of the time. And that needs to be documented.

[KarlInOhio]

If your income is relatively stable, you can use IRS Publication 15 which tells employers how to calculate withholding. Estimate what you will owe in 2014 (or the rest of 2013 if you want to change this year's withholding) and use Pub. 15's tables to figure out how many exemptions you should have.

Although the divorce will make things more complicated, I would just take last year's tax forms, and plug in the new pay numbers to get a decent estimate for this year's and next year's taxes. The brackets really didn't change much between years.

[1rudeboy]

Be careful. The mom walks into Jackson-Hewitt (does it still exist?) and the schlub tells her she can. You get caught in the crossfire.

[1rudeboy]

Oops, got that wrong . . . I meant the opposite.

[1rudeboy]

1rudeboy is confused as usual.

That comment screams, "internet butthurt."

[Ghost of SVR4]

Believe it or not, I actually did that for giggles about a decade ago as well. I didn’t need the help, it was more to prove a point to some people I was having a debate with offline. I called local, next state over and a different coast. Three different accent’s, three different answers, three different codes cited (along with the litany of forms I would have to fill out). The IRS doesn’t even know their own code as it is today, but we are supposed to OR ELSE.

[Mich Patriot]

"Claim zero exemptions to maximize your take-home. Be prepared to write a check on April 15th."

Not sure if serious, but that's backwards. Claiming zero exemptions means your taxable wage isn't reduced before the withholding is calculated. Therefore claiming zero INCREASES your taxes withheld, reducing your take-home pay but likely resulting in a refund.