What should be allowances every paycheck if spouse lost the job?

[vikasintl]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
We had additional withholding every pay check and we were claiming 0 allowances when both of us were working.Now one of us has lost the job and only one is working so what should be change in personal allowances which we submit online to tell employer to withhold tax..now only one is working and we file jointly what should be allowances number should it be 2 or 3...
Also we don't have any child or dependents.

 

[ShyCat]

You can figure that out by filling out the worksheet that comes with the W-4 form.

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WA
We had additional withholding every pay check and we were claiming 0 allowances when both of us were working.Now one of us has lost the job and only one is working so what should be change in personal allowances which we submit online to tell employer to withhold tax..now only one is working and we file jointly what should be allowances number should it be 2 or 3...
Also we don't have any child or dependents.

I don't particularly care for the worksheet on the W4. For many people it ends up giving them a wrong result and they end up owing taxes.

My rule of thumb, which seems to work out well, is if you want to be close to break even (might get a small refund, might owe a little tax) then claim the same number of allowances as there are people in your family.

If you want a somewhat guaranteed refund, then claim 1 less allowance than there are people in your family.

 

[vikasintl]

Can we get a refund if we overpaid to IRS

I don't particularly care for the worksheet on the W4. For many people it ends up giving them a wrong result and they end up owing taxes.

My rule of thumb, which seems to work out well, is if you want to be close to break even (might get a small refund, might owe a little tax) then claim the same number of allowances as there are people in your family.

If you want a somewhat guaranteed refund, then claim 1 less allowance than there are people in your family.

You are right...we chose 0 allowances based on this worksheet and now I realized we have overpaid...can we get a refund equal to overpaid amount along with first time home buyer credit(we purchased our first home recently) without any difficulty from IRS or they will give hard time?

 

[FlyingRon]

You get a refund when you file your taxes. That's how it works. The IRS doesn't care about how over-withheld you are.

 

[pattytx]

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p919.pdf