How to Fill Out a W-4 If You Are Claiming Yourself
Form W-4, also referred to as an employee's withholding allowance certificate, is required when a company hires a new employee. Also, existing employees may complete a new Form W-4 to account for changes in their financial or personal situation. An employee that fails to file Form W-4 with his employer gets taxes withheld from his paycheck at the highest tax rate, as explained by the H&R Block website. The fewer allowances you claim on Form W-4, the more taxes will be withheld from your paycheck resulting in a bigger tax refund. Claiming more allowances on Form W-4 allows you to receive a bigger paycheck, which leads to a lower tax refund.
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Instructions
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Complete the personal allowances worksheet that accompanies Form W-4. Enter "1" on line A, as long as another taxpayer cannot claim you as a dependent. If you are married, you can claim a deduction for your spouse and you can claim another allowance if you are married to a spouse that does not work. If you are single with one job, you can claim an additional allowance. Enter the number of dependents you will claim on your tax return on line D. Enter "1" on line E if you intend to use the head of household filing status on your tax return. Enter "1" on line F if you have more than $1,900 in dependent and child care expenses. If you make less than $61,000 as a single taxpayer or less than $90,000 as a married taxpayer, enter "2" for each dependent child. Subtract "1" if you have more than three dependent children. Input the total on line G.
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Add lines A through G to determine the amount of allowances you are eligible to claim. Just because you can claim six allowances does not mean you are required to. For example, a taxpayer that is eligible to claim four allowances can claim zero, one or two allowances. Select "1" allowance if you are claiming yourself on Form W-4.
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Complete Form W-4. Print your first and last name, social security number, address and indicate if you are single or married. Enter "1" on line 5 as the number of allowances you are claiming, which indicates that you are claiming yourself. Enter an additional amount you want withheld from every paycheck on line 6. Sign and date Form W-4 to indicate the accuracy and truth of the form.
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