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#138661 - 12/11/03 03:32 PM W-4 FORM
mrenderman Offline
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mrenderman
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 123
Wisconsin
We have an employee here that wants to claim zero on her withholding. She is a widow as of this last year and lives on her own with her own income. How would she complete the W-4, if anyone can help.

Thanks

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Human Resources
#138662 - 12/11/03 03:42 PM Re: W-4 FORM
Neytiri Offline
Platinum Poster
Neytiri
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 645
Pandora
Do you mean no tax withholding at all? I have two employees who claim exempt from withholding. She should write "Exempt" on line 7. The exemption is good for only one calendar year; a new one claiming exemption must be filled out by Feb 15 of each year. A copy of any exempt W-4 must be sent each quarter with your 941 filing.

These instructions are in IRS Circular E (Publication 15).

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#138663 - 12/11/03 03:43 PM Re: W-4 FORM
Anonymous
Unregistered

I'm not a tax person, but I have always done my own so I'll give it a shot. It all depends what other assets she may have that will be taxable such as interest income, dividends, etc. If she has other taxable assets she may want to claim "0" and have the extra withholding to cover these at tax time. If she only has her regular income and files form 1040 E-Z, she could probably get away with claiming "1".

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#138664 - 12/11/03 03:46 PM Re: W-4 FORM
mrenderman Offline
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mrenderman
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 123
Wisconsin
The situation is that her husband passed away this last year and she only has her income and she is responsible for the bills and keeping up the house. She has no dependents as she is in her late 50's. So she is considered head of household but she wishes to claim zero. I am no tax person either so I am leary about what she would be able to do here. Thanks for any input I can get.

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#138665 - 12/11/03 03:51 PM Re: W-4 FORM
Lestie G Offline

Power Poster
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 3,608
Near the Land of Enchantment
To me - claiming zero means that she wants more of her income withheld for taxes. Is that what you mean? I claim zero exemptions.

Not being an HR or tax expert - this seems to be an issue between her and the IRS. It seems that her employer would just withhold according to how she completed the W-4.
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#138666 - 12/11/03 03:58 PM Re: W-4 FORM
mrenderman Offline
100 Club
mrenderman
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 123
Wisconsin
I think I understand her question now. She was going to claim one as head of household but she was told because of the IRS reduction in withholding this year, she wants to withhold more of an equal amount that she had done in the past. So to even it out her thinking is that she should claim zero to have more taxes taken out in 2004. If this makes sense to anyone, great.

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#138667 - 12/11/03 05:33 PM Re: W-4 FORM
Bob McComas Offline
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Bob McComas
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 570
Dallas, Texas
That makes sense. The lower number of dependents the higher the tax deduction from her paycheck. She should consult with a tax specialist/CPA to make sure she she won't have any excess taxes taken out and she zero's out on her tax liability when she files her return.

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#138668 - 12/11/03 05:33 PM Re: W-4 FORM
renniks Offline
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renniks
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,162
New England
Be very careful about giving tax advice to employees. When I managed a Payroll Department, staff were always asking these kinds of questions. The answer we always gave was for them to talk to a tax professional if they had questions. What you don't want to have happen at tax time is for the employee to come to you and complain that because of your advice, they now owe "X" number of dollars above what they had withheld, to the IRS.

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#138669 - 12/11/03 06:54 PM Re: W-4 FORM
mrenderman Offline
100 Club
mrenderman
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 123
Wisconsin
Thank you all very much for your help!!!!!

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