Do I owe federal taxes, if I chose to be exempt from them in my w4?

[willchipher]

I recently got, a new job. It said that I could be exempt from federal taxes , if I met the qualifications. I had a tax refund, the last year and expect to have one this year too. I exempt it from my federal taxes on my W-4, does that mean I have to pay federal taxes, when tax season comes around, or are they simply just waved.  And just some more information about me, I'm single, I live with someone, and have no dependence.

[Mike9241]

taxes are not waived regardless of what you put on w-4. you'll get a w-2 and based on that plus any other income less deductions your income tax will be computed which could be zero or not. if you owe less than $1000 there will be no penalties for not having enough withheld. 

state laws vary if you have a state income tax. 

[Critter-3]

First to be exempt you had to understand the rules ... did you qualify ? 

Exemption from withholding. You may claim exemption
from withholding for 2022 if you meet both of the following
conditions: you had no federal income tax liability in 2021
and you expect to have no federal income tax liability in
2022. 

Having a refund on the return is immaterial since a refund only means you paid in more in withholdings and credits than you owed on the return.  So if you do have a tax liability on the 2022 return and you had nothing withheld then not only will you owe on the return the IRS can also hit you with an underpayment penalty as well as a penalty for filing exempt on the W-4 form when you were not eligible.  

[Opus 17]

Never claim exempt on your W-4.

If the job is low pay, you will automatically have little or no tax withheld, if the job is middle income or higher income, you will have approximately the correct tax withheld for your situation.  In other words, your withholding is supposed to be self-adjusting. 

The whole point of the W-4 is to make sure you pay enough into the system but not too much.  It doesn't actually change your tax liability, which is only calculated on your tax return.  If you are not legally exempt from tax (almost no one is) but you claim exempt on the W-4, you may owe a large tax bill at the end of the year plus interest and penalties.  

[NCperson]

@willchipher and to determine if you had any '2021 tax liability', you'll find that on Line 22 of Form 1040.  if it is greater than zero, you don't meet the criteria to be exempt from tax withholding.