I claim 4 exemptions during the year if I claim 0 on my W-4 does that mean more money in my pocket monthly?

if you claim 4 exemptions and you have less than 4 dependents including yourself - you could wind up owing taxes. switching to 0 exemptions will reduce your take home pay and increase the taxes withheld - possibly increasing your refund at tax time

Huh?

If you claim 4 exemptions on your tax return, you should pay less in taxes AT TAX TIME.

Your W-4 governs the amount of taxes withheld throughout the year. If you want less money withheld, you should put 4 withholding allowances on the W-4, not 0.

No if you claim 0 exemptions the maximum amount of taxes will be withheld. The more exemptions you claim the less tax is withheld, but you also have a higher chance of possibly owing money when you file your taxes.

The IRS has a W-4 calculator on their web site. You can change the number of exemptions and see the tax results.

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0...

If you claim 4 exemptions during the year they will take out less money than if you claim more and more money than if you claim 0 to 4. I know that's counter intuitive but we are talking about the IRS. But remember it is in the final tally that the truth lies. So if they take out less than they should have either the IRS WILL take it's due at tax time or you will break closer to even. Once I was told that a friend took 9 exemptions during the year and the IRS took very little from her. Her reasoning was that it was HER money after all. However she got hit by a multi-thousands of dollars tax bill at the end and didn't to it again. In other cases many of my friends take 0 deductions and the IRS takes the full amount each month. At the end they get largish returns. They see it as a kind of savings account. The IRS however gets the interest and you don't. So if you are very good with money take less each month and put the correct amount in the bank and collect the interest. If you are like the rest of us don't mess with the IRS. And THAT is from personal experience.

The other answers are correct.
For over 2 decades I claimed single status, zero deductions during the year and my appropriate deductions when I filed my taxes, resulting in the max withholding (and giving Uncle Sam a free loan during the year). With few things to claim (not enough overall to itemize) I didn't get a lot back.

Once I bought a home, I began claiming 2 deductions during the year, was able to deduct my property taxes, mortgage interest, charitable giving, etc., etc. which gives me more money back each year than before. Of course, this also means that I am paying out that amount of interest (up to $10,000 per year early on) to the mortgage company so I do everything I can to pay the mortgage off quickly (I expect to have it paid off after a total of about 13 years, saving me somewhere around $75,000 in interest). While buying a home is nice, it's not for everyone and needs to be entered into with great care and study.

So, those are my twelve cents.

Cheers!!

ScoManJim at Yahoo dot Com
BHA/BHY