Can claiming 1 for your paycheck make a difference on how much you owe @ end of year...?

I will be working 2 p/t jobs; one is a regular retail job and the other as a independent contractor. If i claim 1 (& have more taxes pulled fr my paychecks), will it help me owe less at the end of the year for my indep. contract. job?
*Also when i record the mileage traveled for my job, what is the best way to do it, write just the r/t mileage and/or my odometer reading? And can i deduct every gas fill up? Sorry, as you can tell, i've never done this before. Want to make sure i'm properly prepared for tax time (next year).
Thank you in advance!!

For the i.c. job i could make up to 2k/mo at most. So if i don't do quarterly, i should save 25% for yr end taxes? (pls bare w/ me, i'm kinda slow catching on to this... :") Lol! i need to dummies explanation) So i can deduct either business mileage traveled (& it doesn't incl the commuting to & fr locations i have to work @, right?) Or the expenses for it (gas, clothes-i have to wear certain colors, etc..).

Claiming one will take out LESS than if you claim zero. Claiming zero on your job will still probably not take out enough to cover your tax on the i.c. job - if you are going to make over a couple thousand as an i.c. you should either file quarterly estimated payments, or else have them take out extra over the zero filing on your job as an employee.

To be able to deduct mileage, you are supposed to log ALL of your miles, marking them as personal, commuting, or business. At the end of the year, you can either deduct a flat mileage rate of 50.5 cents per mile OR take the portion of your actual expenses that represents the business miles, not both. Gas is considered part of actual expenses, so if you don't take the standard mileage rate, you can deduct a portion, not all, of what you pay for gas.

If you are worried about owing taxes.. claim 1 or zero... as for the vehicle.. you can either do mileage or expenses, not both, keep track of which ever one you choose.. but it has the be the same as you have used in years past.. mileage gets you a little less money, but is easier, but you should keep a written daily log of your miles. If you want to claim by expenses, you still need to keep track of personal vs business miles for your expenses, but you can also deduct repairs and maintenance as well as fuel.

yes

The IC gig will almost certainly result in a tax bill at filing time. You either need to make quarterly estimated tax payments on those earnings or have extra tax withheld from the W-2 job to avoid a tax debt when you file. You make estimated payments using Form 1040-ES and should reserve at least 30% of your earnings for taxes in most cases. You should also probably claim zero on your W-4 on the other job.

If you use your personal vehicle for business (but NOT commuting!) you may either deduct the actual costs apportioned between personal and business use OR you may take the standard mileage rate, 50.5垄 per mile in 2008. Either method requires you to keep an accurate record of business and personal use at the time you drive the miles so writing it down in a logbook you keep in the car is essential.

If you use actual costs, keep track of ALL expenses -- gas, oil, maintenance and repairs, insurance, depreciation, etc. Then you apportion it between business and personal use.

For example, if you put 30,000 miles on your car and 10,000 of those are for business use, you can deduct 1/3 of the total costs. If you use the mileage rate you'd take a flat deduction for $5,050. If you use the mileage rate the only items you can add to it is parking and tolls; all other expenses are covered in the 50.5垄 per mile.