Therefore, you finally got the job – congratulations. Nevertheless, when getting a stack of forms from your new boss, you can get confused because you know that every misstep you make would mean that all your money will be taken by the federal government as taxes. Luckily, you are reading this article because we are going to show you how to fill out your W-4 in order to reduce taxes.
First of all, let’s clarify what is a W-4. It actually tells your employer how much money from your salary should be withheld in order to pay the IRS. That means W-4 is a kind of a slide where you set how much money you pay as taxes. Be careful not to make a mistake filling out your form, otherwise, you would be unpleasantly surprised next April.
First of all, you need to write down your name on the first line. And remember that your name should include your first name, middle name and last name precisely as it is written on your Social Security card. Also, you need to provide your mailing address.
Secondly, you should indicate your “Filing Status.” You need to put “Single” if you are single. However, remember that you need to select the option “Head of Household” if you are over 19 years old, live separately from your parents and pay more than half of the expenses related to maintaining your household. Also, select the option “Married filing jointly” if you are married.
The third step is actually the most important one. This step is about checking whether you have another job or working spouse. As we said before, you need to check “No” if this is your only job. But if you work both at McDonald’s and UPS, you should check “Yes.”
Fourth step is about dependents. If you have children, you may use this field in order to indicate them. But since this is your first job, probably you do not have any dependents. Thus, put zero there.
Then, you should indicate additional amount of withholding in the next line. Usually, you should leave this field empty if you have only one job. Sometimes you can get a letter from the IRS saying that you need to indicate a certain number here. Do not fill this field unless your tax accountant says to do so.
Finally, you should sign this paper. In this way, you confirm all the information provided above. Do not forget that you should not cheat because IRS will find it and impose penalties on you.