So far, over 35 million people have received a tax refund this year, but not everyone has been so lucky. If you owed money or your refund was smaller than anticipated, there’s an easy way to avoid the same fate next year. All you have to do is submit an updated Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, to your employer to adjust your withholding. Your employer will deduct more taxes from your pay during the year, but you’ll get a larger sum of cash at tax time.
When should you adjust your paycheck withholding?
Most people complete a W-4 when they start a new job and never think about it again. Ideally you want to check your withholding at the beginning of every year to make sure you aren’t having too much or too little withheld. It’s also a good idea to check your withholding whenever you experience a major life change such as buying a house, getting married or adding a child to your family.
How to check your tax withholding
The best way to see where you stand and what adjustments need to be made is to use a withholding calculator. Before using the tool, you’ll need a copy of your most recent pay stub and any other sources of income you have. You’ll also need a copy of your most recent tax return. The more accurate information you provide, the better.
What form do you use to adjust withholding?
Adjusting your withholding is easy. Simply take the results from the tool and use it to complete a new W-4 and submit it to your employer. You can find a copy of the form on the IRS website. If you need to adjust your withholding from retirement income, you’ll need to complete a Form W-4 P, Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments, and submit it to the payer.
Another way to fatten your tax refund
Aside from adjusting your withholding, you can also boost your refund by claiming the appropriate tax credits and deductions on your tax return. Not sure what is available? Let ezTaxReturn guide you to every tax break you deserve, so you get the biggest possible refund. It is so ez, you can e-file in 30 minutes or less.
