Employee Witholding W-4 Form: how much do they withold (1st timer!)-Thanks

between 30 % and 50 %

do not be upset when you see how much is taken out, Rudy G. says he needs your money to pay for abortions for the poor.

I sure hope it's not 50%!

My first paycheck will be April 30, I guess I'll see then.

You're a full-time freelancer and they are withholding money from your paycheck?

This sounds strange to me? There's no reason for them to be withholding if you are truly a freelancer and not an employee. If you really are a freelancer then they should be paying you the way they would another business and you will have to pay your own taxes as a business owner at the end of the year.

If they are withholding then they consider you an employee. If you are an employee then you might be entitled to some of the benefits you say you are not recieving. Time to talk to the boss about what the dilly is.

Hmm, I don't know much about these things.

I've always worked as a freelancer since I moved to the US a few years ago.

This new employer hired me for a "long" project (about 5 months, 5 days a week), which is rare for me. So they said they would put me on their payroll and I will get paid every 2 weeks (direct deposit), which is pretty awesome for me!! (I have clients who pay me up to 4 months after I finish working for them).

So I was pretty happy about the whole deal.

The only thing is, they made me fill this W-4 form, while I'm normally paying my taxes on my own. I don't think I have a choice...it was part of the paperwork they gave me when I started...

Maybe it's better for me though...it will be a good surprise next year when (hopefully) I get a refund.

Why would you want to get a refund? That is an interest free loan to the government. It would be better to invest that over the course of the year to earn a little bit of interest for yourself.

Really? OK, I really s@ck at these things. Can you tell I work in a creative field?

Thanks for your input everyone.

Maybe try something like this to estimate what you'll get.....

http://tax.cchgroup.com/taxcalcs/withholding/default.asp?gpalooknfeel=completetaxW4&IBUMSWB=748ABB94A54C457BAAB414C897B6E52E&IBUMSID=610541

Or this....

http://www.taxbrain.com/taxcenter/w4calculator.asp

This is awesome!

I love you guys :-)

Not a lawyer, but wrote:

If they are withholding then they consider you an employee.

Not exactly. If the company gives him a 1099, then they can withhold. He would still be considered a freelancer.

If they are giving you a 1099, I'd recommend that you get them to withhold as much as they can because you don't sound too financially savvy. It's better for you to err on the side of caution rather than get slapped with a tax bill plus penalties next April.

Claim zero.

Please can you help? wrote:

It's the 1st time I had to fill an Employee Witholding W-4 Form. For the total of allowances, I wrote "1" (I'm single).

So...If I make $3,000, how much money net will I receive on my paycheck? Somethingg like $2,000?

Anybody knows?

I live in New York City.

Add. info: I'm a 'full-time freelancer' for this company so I don't have any paid vacations/health insurance/401K etc.

Thanks!!

You should have claimed about 3 allowances so that you didn't have any deductions, you can ask for another W-4 and change it.

A quick note to help you keep it simple...

The less exemptions you claim the more they will deduct from your paycheck for tax withholding. To have the maximum withheld (and therefore you would get the lowest possible paycheck) you would file your W4 claiming 0 exemptions.

If you have a fairly normal income, which it sounds like you will because this is a long-term employment arrangement, and nothing unusual about the rest of your tax situation then "Single, 1" is probably fine. If you have large deductions, for example if you have high mortgage interest, then it might make more sense to file "Single, 2" or "Single, 3" depending on your situation. Without knowing your specifics it's hard to say but "Single, 1" is probably pretty safe.