How many allowances should I claim?

[csween86]

Married filing jointly, only one spouse works, claiming 3 dependents under 17. How many allowances should we claim to get close to breaking even? Yes, I’ve done the W4 calculator on the IRS website, and it tells me how much to withhold each paycheck to break even, but it doesn’t tell me how many allowances to claim that will get me to withholding that amount every paycheck... Do I literally need to change my allowances with my employer, wait for it to process, see how much the new allowances withhold, and then adjust it accordingly over and over until I get to the number that I need?! There has got to be an easier way! I miss the old W4 for tallying up exemptions.

[LinaJ2020]

For the new year 2020, you do not claim any allowances anymore. 

They are no longer used for the redesigned Form W-4. This change is meant to simplify the form. In the past, the withholding allowance was tied to the amount of the personal exemption. Due to changes in the law, Tax Cuts and Job Acts, on your 2019 taxes, you cannot claim personal exemptions or dependency exemptions.

Instead of claiming allowances, employees would now use the W-4 form to provide their employer with the information needed to determine the amount of income tax to withhold. You would be asked to include things like your expected filing status, family income from other jobs, number of dependents, and tax deductions you plan to claim. Once your employer has the necessary information, the company will take it from there and do the necessary calculations.

[csween86]

Weird... I’m a federal employee, and when I go to mypay which is the website for my pay stubs, w2’s, my federal withholding and stuff, the only option it gives me for tax withholding is what my filing status is, and how many exemption I want to claim. So I was wrong in saying allowances, it says exemptions... I’m so confused now.

[CatinaT1]

If you have not updated your W4 using the new 2020 W4, your employer will continue to calculate your withholds based on your old W4 entries.  You are not required to update your W4, but your withholding may no longer be sufficient.  

As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the IRS and Treasury adjusted the tax withholding tables, which affects the amount of income taxes withheld from your pay.  For 2020, W4's have been completely redesigned.  Exemptions or Allowances are no longer applicable. 

My suggestion is to use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator here.