What are you guys currently withholding on your W4?
I just got a decent raise, and was going over everything and took a look at the W4 calculator, and it suggested between 2 or 4… The only reason im kind of wary, is because this will be the first year i have to deal with all of the tax shenanigans about buying my house, including itemizing student loan interest, what i paid for mortgage points, deducting interest and all the other shenanigans that go on. NOt only that, but i have no idea how we are going to do this considering my gf and i co own the house, yet are not married, so i dont belive we can file jointly
I normally get back around $3K between both (or did the last 2-3 years, I just started a new job with a 30% pay raise so I have no idea what this years is going to look like); with state being maybe $300, and Fed being the remainder. That’s writing off a House and Student Loans.
I don’t know how you’re going to handle the house thing between 2 people, my house is in my name only.
not really, but thanx for the lecture. We have been dating for 9 years, so im not too woried about it considering that is over 50% longer then the average marriage lasts
me and my now wife bought our house before we were married as well. I just claimed the house, and got the money back on my return. Then we split the ammount that the house yielded and put it into our personal savings.
Give a call to a CPA or whomever does your taxes, they’ll likely have the best input.
how much interest did you get from the state and fed for withholding your money? In my opinion, getting money back isn’t good unless you completely suck at spending. You shouldn’t be letting the gov’t hold your money interest free though either.
Sounds like you’re doing the all the same stuff I did 2 years ago. Turbo Tax made it easy. There are people here that know a lot more about finance than I do suggesting an accountant, but FWIW I see no need.
IIRC I put in a 2 on my tax forms. If anything I get a small federal refund every year and owe the state like $50.
If you like giving the government a free year long loan then crank your deductions up. However you should be fine with staying where you’re at now. If your raise is enough to bump you up to a higher tax bracket you might have an issue there but if you can claim your house that should even that out (depending on when you bought it).
Either way you’re going to be paying the same when it’s all said and done. Claim the minimum on your taxes and put the money you’re saving into an ING account or something. At least you get 3% on that and if you happened to need the money for something it’s there.
Call your tax professional. Vague advice will often be worse than just guessing.
That said, buying a house usually results in lower withholdings. Depends on how risk adverse you are. Getting a mid year raise will also result in overpayment because you will get taxed as if you had earned that amount for the entire year, so keep that in mind, both now, and when you do your taxes and try to move your withholdings around for next year.
Not going to ask the obvious question of why would you co own a house and not be married but for each their own.
You can claim any payments you make to certain loans like mortgage and student loans. As long as its you making the payments to something in your name, you should be ok.
I just calculated my tax bracked and how much I get taxed and keep my gross pay and net pay near that percentage. Personally, tax returns is the worst investment every and I don’t know why people love getting a big return back since its no intrest. I rather keep the money I would withhold in a separate account and save it there but that is just me.
