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Question
Can I really claim 20?
I am getting married in September, and we are trying to budget our money as much as possible. But we found out that we will cut it close, or be short. Someone told me that the government allows people to claim 20 on their W-2's for up to 4 checks a year. Is that true? I guess what it does is it allows you to keep a WHOLE check, rather than having state and federal take something out. Obviously, this would have to be paid back when tax season comes around, but right now we are thinking we will be short in money. Can anyone give me more information on this "claiming20?" Thanks.
2 months ago - 5 answers
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The Gov't does not allow you to claim 20 allowances on 4 checks a year. I wouldn't listen to whoever told you that. What you can do is review IRS Publication 15 and the similar publication for your state. What this publication does is tell you exactly how much tax is withheld based on your W-4 filing and how often you are paid. Before you do this, do a mock tax return with good estimates of your total income, total deductions, and your estimated tax withholding before you change your W-4. Then you can adjust accordingly.
by Steve
2 months ago
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Other Answers
You can claim exempt with your payroll but when you do your taxes at the end of the year you will still owe all the money to IRS. I usually claim 4 for half the year, and swich to 0 the other half. I just switched to 0 and it is killin' me! lol
by Sara Girl- 2 months ago
What you are hearing is not correct. There is no "claiming 20" rule. You can claim whatever you want to as long as it allows you to break close to even at the end of the year. If you claimed 1 all year except maybe one paycheck, you might be OK. And if you claimed 0 all year, you might be OK if you upped your allowances for two or even three paychecks. But if you do that, be VERY sure to correct it so it doesn't go too long, or you could end up paying penalties at the end of the year.
by Judy- 2 months ago
There are a lot of myths in this area. Your employer is allowed to refuse to process your W-4 if it looks bogus. Many employers cringe when they get a W-4 with more than "10" on it (or "exempt"), though the form/software generally is set to handle 99 allowances. Many years ago, employers were required to send any W-4 with 10 or more allowances on it to the IRS. The IRS dropped this program and replaced it with "lock in" letters. As in, if you put down 20 *and* screw up your taxes, the IRS will send a letter to your employer in a year or two telling them that you can have single-x, with x being the maximum number of allowances you could claim. Under the old system, I saw a lock in letter that had 19 allowances on it (the person had tried to get all 99). The IRS had reviewed their recent tax returns (huge schedule A and lots of children) and concluded that 19 was sufficient to prevent a balance due.
by v b- 2 months ago
You have received some bad information. Call a tax professional and get the right information.
by Gary- 2 months ago