W-4 help married, 1 income family, 2 children

[lepagemd]

I'd like to update my husband's W-4. A bookkeeper once told me to always "file 1" to avoid having too little taken out and not to follow the mathematical directions on the worksheet. I was looking for guidance on the best way to do it. We always get a large return, but perhaps having less each pay period would be better. Thanks!

[rjs]

Claiming only 1 withholding allowance will result in more tax being withheld from each paycheck - probably more than necessary. Is that what you have been doing? If so, that's why you've been getting a large refund. If you want to have less tax withheld from each paycheck, increase the number of allowances that you claim.

Did you go through the worksheet? How many allowances does it tell you to claim? It's probably at least 5. The result from the worksheet is probably a lot more reasonable than claiming only 1. Apparently you ran into a bookkeeper who likes to let the government hold onto a lot of her money all year, without paying any interest on it.

[SweetieJean]

But you are asking from TT Self-employed??

[Opus 17]

The IRS withholding calculator requires a lot of data input but is very precise and will estimate your refund and advise you on options to change your W-2.  https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-withholding-calculator

For a very rough approximation, every extra allowance you claim on a W-4 will result in $1000 smaller refund and $1000 more take home pay per year ($19/week; $83/month, etc.). If you change your W-4 halfway through the year the effect is only half for the rest of that year, of course.