Having recently went from 20 years of self-employment to a “real” job, I forget how this works. I can claim myself or not, no kids or anything.
What do I claim to get more money every paycheck, 0 or 1? TIA, and apologies for the lame question.
Talk to payroll. I’ve found it best to claim enough to get less than $200 back each year. That means, for me, claiming 3 (I think).
Use the Witholding Calculator to figure out the right amount for you.
The worksheet on the form will probably result in you taking two exemptions. If you have no special tax considerations, take what the form tells you to take.
There was a thread a week or two ago about how it’s a bad idea to try claiming a large number of exemptions to do things like invest the money, pay the tax next year, but enjoy the interest. The IRS has programs that evaluate your tax withholdings through the year, and if they’re significantly too low, they’ll direct your employer to take the normal withholdings, and possibly hit you with a fine for under-withholding.
Within a fairly narrow range of wiggle room, you can have less taken out - I’m taking three right now as about 97% of my mortgage payments are interest that I’ll be getting back. This leaves more money in my paycheck, rather than going to Uncle Sam’s zero-percent interest savings account that I’d otherwise be waiting until next April to retrieve.
Conversely, if you really like the idea of getting your own money back in a year with no interest, or are anticipating owing a larger than normal tax for the year, you can file it with one exemption, or even pick the “plus $xxx per paycheck” option.
Generally, YourRealMarriageStatus+1 is safe, (Single +1) and will often result in a modest refund. +2 might result in a small amount owing for most dudes (less is taken out). +0 is good if you owed taxes last year or expect to owe this year (more is taken out). YMMV. It sounds like you want to claim Single+1.
“Exempt” or 10+ could result in Very Bad Things.