Im a single mother, I claim HOH. I have a 1 year old, I don’t pay for child care. It’s been years since I’ve filled out a W4 and with the new tax laws.. I’m not too sure I did it correctly. I ended up with 6 allowances. I did a “1” for myself, “4” for the one child dependent & the other “1” was for my 2nd job that pays less than $1500. I don’t know if 6 is too much or not. Over the years, I’ve always allowed them to take as much as possible out of my checks for the bigger refunds but, that was also before I had a child so I never had to factor in dependents.. long story short.. help, lol. Please & thank you!
It's possible that 6 allowances could be right for you. I'll explain some of the reasons below. At the same time, you want to have enough withheld.
In your situation, depending how much you earn for the year, you may be entitled to certain credits because you now have a child. The earned income credit is available when the income is below $40,320 for 2018. This credit is refundable so it is like you paid this in. The credit is provided to low income taxpayers who are trying, but struggling. The maximum credit is available at the mid range ($0-$40,320). As you earn money the credit increases and once you reach the mid range it begins to decrease. The maximum credit for one qualifying child in 2018 is $3,461 with one qualifying child.
In 2018, there will be a Child Tax Credit in the amount of $2,000 (doubled from 2017).
The IRS calculator can be used any time and you can complete a new W4 as many times as you think you need to throughout the year. So test it whenever you want.