W-4: Employee's Tax Withholding Certificate
Whenever you gain employment you will be required to fill out a W-4 form which will tell the employer how much of your income to withhold for taxes. You will fill it out when you start a job, you can claim dependents to get more money monthly, or not and get some money back when you file your taxes because it may have been unnecessarily withheld throughout the year.
-Accurately completing your W-4 will help you avoid overpaying your taxes throughout the year and/or owing a large balance at tax time.
The W-4 will be used by your employer to determine how much income tax to withhold. It's based on your marital status and any other adjustments you decide to include on the form.
In the form, the total number of allowances you are claiming is important:
Tax allowances range from 0-4.
A lower number of allowances will allow you less money in your paychecks but more assurance that your taxes will be paid in full come tax time.
Conversely, more allowances mean allowing more liquid assets for use in daily life like for your checking account, but more risk that you will be getting a bill to pay come tax time.
This is a helpful link for tips on how to fill it out: