I am a single, and I have one kid. This year would be my first time claiming taxes, and I want to claim him. How do I correctly fill out a W4 form?

[Yanaxo]

I have never claimed taxes before. This is my first real job (I am 19) and my son will still be under 1 by the time I claim taxes. On my w2 form, I put 0. Should I have put 1? And how can I fill out my w4 form correctly?

[SweetieJean]

Are you also a full time college student, and do you live with another adult?

[Yanaxo]

I will be starting college in fall 2018. I was expected to start for fall 2017, but unfortunately FASFA didn’t give me anything, and at the time I did not have a job to pay for my classes. I’ve been living with my grabdmother since I was a baby, but I do plan on moving out this summer.

[Yanaxo]

By the way, I just started working this November

[SweetieJean]

Depending upon your income, your grandmother may be able to claim both you and your baby as tax dependents for 2017. Were you in high school at any point this year? Also, does the baby's Father live with you?

[Yanaxo]

Yes actually. I was in high school up until August 2017. And my child’s father does not live with me

[SweetieJean]

Then it is likely that Grandma can claim both you and your child. When you file your own return, indicate on it that someone else is claiming  you.

[SweetieJean]

The TurboTax W-4 calculator is for 2016 but should still give you a good indication of the number of exemptions you can claim on the 2017 W-4 - https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/

[Hal_Al]

You can claim 4, per the worksheet,. You do not want any federal income tax withholding because your tax liability will be zero.

There is no correct way to fill out a W-4. A W-4 is only for estimating withholding. It does not lock you in to what you can claim at tax time.

 Check your first pay stub, if there is too much income tax withheld, you can adjust. Or, if you prefer, you can just wait til tax time to get a refund. But filing a child dependent gets you refundable credits  from the government.

[Yanaxo]

What do you meam claim 4 per worksheet? Sorry, I’ve never done this before. I can look at my pay stub when I clock in tomorrow.

[SweetieJean]

Under the new tax law, there will no longer be any personal exemptions starting in 2018.