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When Can I Claim Exempt on My W-4?

Tread carefully before claiming exempt on your W-4 form.

Your W-4 is filed with your employer. Based on a number of allowances and exemptions you claim, your employer will withhold a certain amount of your income from each paycheck to cover taxes owed to the IRS. If you claim EXEMPT on your W-4, it means that no taxes will be taken out of your paycheck throughout the year to cover what you may owe to the IRS. Claiming exempt does not apply to everyone. Let’s find out why.

Am I eligible to claim exempt on my W-4?

If you want to claim exempt on your W-4, both of the following need to be true:

  1. For the prior year, you had a right to a refund of all federal income tax withheld because you had no tax liability.
  2. For the current year, you expect a refund of all federal income tax withheld because you expect to have no tax liability.

If one or both of these are false, then you will not be eligible to claim exempt on your W-4.

Are there any exceptions?

In some cases, claiming exempt is just not an option. Below are some reasons why it may not be for you:

  • If your income is $950 or more and at least $300 of that is from un-work-related income (ie: interest or dividend income), then you cannot claim exempt from taxes.
  • If you plan to claim dependents on your tax return, then you cannot claim exempt from taxes.
  • If you will be itemizing your deductions on your tax return for the year, then you cannot claim exempt from taxes.
  • If you are Age 65+ or blind, you must use IRS Worksheet 1-3 or 1-4 to determine if you can claim exempt.

I’m EXEMPT for tax purposes. How do I report that?

After doing some research and realizing that you are, in fact, eligible to claim EXEMPT on your W-4, you’ll need to report that. On your W-4, leave box 5 blank. If you have an amount in Box 5, that takes precedence over Box 7. Continue reading “When Can I Claim Exempt on My W-4?”

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Holiday Tax Deductions: Gifts to Charity

It’s almost time to bust out the wrapping paper and tinsel!

Yes, it’s that time of year again. It’s the season of giving. Before you get wrapped up in holiday parties and stocking stuffers, you’ll want to make sure that you’re mind isn’t blurred with visions of sugarplums and too much eggnog.

January marks the start of tax season and we want to make sure that you’re ready. That includes reporting those holiday gifts to charity as tax deductions.

How do I donate?

We tend to think that the only way we can help out in society is by breaking out our checkbooks and tacking on as many zeros as our bank accounts will allow. Money is great. But it’s not the only way. It’s also probably the main reason why the majority of us end up doing nothing. We simply can’t afford to.

Seeing as our daily lives revolve around checking up on ourselves (our bank accounts, our smartphone notifications, our Tinder profiles), it’s easy to forget that taking the time out for others is also considered a charitable donation.

If you can write out a check, then all the more power to you! If you can’t, don’t downgrade the time you can spend helping out at your local soup kitchen or cleaning out your closet to donate those jeans and blazers you never ended up wearing. Your nearest Goodwill or Salvation Army will take them off your hands.

Where should I donate?

The dilemma for some of us is that we don’t know where our hard earned dollars are going when we donate to a charity. We understand! Who wants to spend time researching a reputable charity to support and then not be certain that they are using your money the right way? Continue reading “Holiday Tax Deductions: Gifts to Charity”

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When Does the 2016 Tax Season Begin For Filing 2015 Tax Returns?

The 2016 tax season has not started yet but you can still get your head in the game!

Every season has a start and an end. Let’s take football for example. You can’t throw a few linebackers and quarterbacks on a field mid-May and tell them to play for the SuperBowl ring. There needs to be officials present and aware of what is going on… not to mention some team preparation and uniform fittings.

The same logic applies to taxes. Taxpayers can prepare for tax season all they want by gathering documents and sorting receipts. It doesn’t mean that you can submit your return to the IRS before the season starts and expect them to accept it. That’s because there are annual changes and documents that need to be issued prior to the start date.

Why are tax preparers saying that 2015 tax preparation is available now?

Some online tax preparation websites are claiming that 2015 tax returns can be prepared and filed. Well, in their defense, that’s half true. In fact, they should be advertising that you can prepare now and file much later (once the IRS starts accepting tax returns).

This may sound tempting but it could just end in more time spent on taxes than really necessary. What do we mean? Well for one, the IRS does not release the new tax forms until the very end of the year (We’re talking post Eggnog binge). That means that all of the information that you are entering onto your account may be incorrect. Not to mention that the financial year hasn’t ended yet so the income amount you enter on your account will need to be updated, regardless come January when you are issued your W-2 form from your employer(s). Continue reading “When Does the 2016 Tax Season Begin For Filing 2015 Tax Returns?”