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ogsan2424
Returning Member

W-4 Form has changed from Years Past

My goal now is 1 of 2 scenarios….1) to receive no refund or as little refund as possible or 2) owe very little in taxes.

I usually receive refunds most tax years.

I am married. No children.

I remember in years past I would adjust number of dependents throughout the Tax Year using W-4 Form such as starting off with 0 or 6 dependents at beginning of year and every 4 months making an adjustment. For example, I would start off with 0 dependents in January. For the month of May, I would make an adjustment with W-4 Form for 3 dependents. And finally for the last 4 months of Tax Year starting in September I would make an adjustment with W-4 Form for 6 dependents.

I learned this method from a consumer advocate and was a way to use refund to pay down my debt timelier. However, I noticed that the W-4 Form has changed and no longer was there a Line where you could just enter number of dependents that one wanted to adjust (“during the year” for tax purposes with the understanding that for filing purposes or when actually filing my taxes I would enter my actual number of dependents I would be claiming).

How can I use the current W-4 Form design or layout to make adjustment(s) in order to achieve either of my 2 scenarios stated above or beforehand?...Thank you.

Some info from 2024 taxes (2023 Tax Year):

AGI: $63,200

Total Tax: $3623

Federal Income Tax Withheld: $6608

Refund Received: $2985

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1 Reply
rjs
Level 15
Level 15

W-4 Form has changed from Years Past

The number that you were putting on the old W-4 form was actually withholding allowances, not dependents. The new W-4 form doesn't use allowances anymore. It works differently. Use the Tax Withholding Estimator on the IRS web site to figure out what to put on your W-4 form. It will show you how to adjust your withholding to get the approximate refund amount that you want.

 

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