How can I determine how much federal tax should be taken out of my pay

[cameaf]

You can use this TurboTax withholding calculator to estimate how much federal tax should be withheld from your pay:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/

This link provides more information on how to estimate how much you withholding should be:

https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/tax-tips/General-Tax-Tips/How-to-Estimate-Federal-Withholding/...

[mlkeith]

This is kind of by preference. If you want to get money back, I have found it best to claim zero dependents through the year. More will be deducted from your check each pay day, but you probably won't have to worry about paying the IRS at the end of the year. If you find, after the first year, this wasn't enough, you can go to your HR dept and ask them to take out more.