Net Summer Associate Weekly Pay Forum

[desertlaw]

Is this really that complicated? If you're single and supporting yourself, with no additional income, can't you just put 1 allowance and be fine? I've done this with every job I've had previously.

if you put down one allowance they tax you as if you were making 160k that year... ur only making 30k. So you'll get taxed at least 4x the amount you actually need to be.

by taxing, you mean they'll withhold the money.

Which means that more $ will go to the gov't now (you're basically giving fed gov't a loan) but you'll get it back as a refund when you do your 2012 taxes. So if your firm doesn't want you to jack up the allowances or you just are afraid to, don't think that you'll never see that money again. You just won't have it until you get your refund.

[RMstratosphere]

I used that online calculator posted earlier and it suggested I take 33 withholdings. Can that be right?!

[desertlaw]

I used that online calculator posted earlier and it suggested I take 33 withholdings. Can that be right?!

That's basically what I got too. I've read in other threads that some firms discourage SA's doing that because it means they'll/you'll probably get audited. But other SA's on these threads have said their firm just encouraged it. So I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[CyLaw]

I used that online calculator posted earlier and it suggested I take 33 withholdings. Can that be right?!

That's basically what I got too. I've read in other threads that some firms discourage SA's doing that because it means they'll/you'll probably get audited. But other SA's on these threads have said their firm just encouraged it. So I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The previous requirement to report W4's claiming more than 10 allowances has been removed by the IRS. --LinkRemoved--. Lock-in letters now result from withholding issues identified by the IRS based on the W-2 at the end of the year. http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc753.html

Granted, you will have to do what the firm tells you to do, but try showing them a print out from the IRS calculator if they question your allowances.

[Na_Swatch]

Is this really that complicated? If you're single and supporting yourself, with no additional income, can't you just put 1 allowance and be fine? I've done this with every job I've had previously.

if you put down one allowance they tax you as if you were making 160k that year... ur only making 30k. So you'll get taxed at least 4x the amount you actually need to be.

by taxing, you mean they'll withhold the money.

Which means that more $ will go to the gov't now (you're basically giving fed gov't a loan) but you'll get it back as a refund when you do your 2012 taxes. So if your firm doesn't want you to jack up the allowances or you just are afraid to, don't think that you'll never see that money again. You just won't have it until you get your refund.

Yeah I didn't mean you never get to see the money... But it is like you just handing the gov a free $8000 loan with no interest whatsover for 8 or so months

[blurbz]

My firm has an "alternate withholding calculation" that we can opt into by checking a box. Pretty sweet.

[desertlaw]

Is this really that complicated? If you're single and supporting yourself, with no additional income, can't you just put 1 allowance and be fine? I've done this with every job I've had previously.

if you put down one allowance they tax you as if you were making 160k that year... ur only making 30k. So you'll get taxed at least 4x the amount you actually need to be.

by taxing, you mean they'll withhold the money.

Which means that more $ will go to the gov't now (you're basically giving fed gov't a loan) but you'll get it back as a refund when you do your 2012 taxes. So if your firm doesn't want you to jack up the allowances or you just are afraid to, don't think that you'll never see that money again. You just won't have it until you get your refund.

Yeah I didn't mean you never get to see the money... But it is like you just handing the gov a free $8000 loan with no interest whatsover for 8 or so months

To be fair, the gov't has loaned us law students a lot of money so far, so I guess we could look at giving them a short-term loan as a nice gesture to return the favor