Hello Darkness, My Old Friend: It's Time to Update Your W-4 Form

When was the last time you updated your W-4 form? If your answer is back when I started at my job, it’s time to revisit this old friend to make sure you have the correct amount withheld from each paycheck so that you’re not hit with a huge bill come April.

Yes, yes, we blogged about the W-4 form last month, too, so why are we harping on this? Do we really have nothing better to do? No! It’s because we’ve seen a lot of our clients struggle with this over the last year and because the amount of tax withheld from each paycheck directly affects the amount you owe or receive back on your tax return! It doesn’t take a tax expert to know that you’d most likely prefer to get money rather than owe it.

So sure, you could spend a few hours calculating your withholding the old-fashioned way. Or you could use the IRS’s online Tax Withholding Estimator and get back to your Bridgerton binge in a snap!

By answering a few questions regarding your current salary and, if applicable, your spouse’s current salary, you’ll be able to:

• Calculate your withholding

• Generate your completed W-4 form

• Set up your withholding

Now this is the kind of stuff we geek out about around here!

Before sitting down to tackle your W-4, you’ll want to gather a few items:

• Paystubs for all jobs

• Other income information such as side jobs, self-employment, investments, etc.

• Your most recent tax return

• A strong drink. Just kidding…sort of.

If you find that you have questions while you’re inputting your information, check out this page of helpful FAQs broken down by each section of the form.

As great as this tool is, you don’t want to use it if you have a pension but not a job, you have nonresident alien status, or your tax situation is very complex. In those cases, it’s best to schedule an appointment to chat.