Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Saving, Tax, The Dolans
Ken and Daria Dolan are widely known as America’s First Family of Personal Finance.
Each time Ken and I hear someone brag about how they got a big, fat tax refund, it’s all I can don’t to scream. A tax refund is NOT a gift…it’s NOT something to celebrate! A tax refund means you let Uncle Sam keep too much of your hard-earned money for the last 12 months!
So this day let’s stop the madness. Put an end to the interest-free loan you’re so generously giving Uncle Sam and give yourself an instant pay raise instead! That’s right, spend five minutes with us now and get a fatter paycheck all year long.
All you need is a pen, a calculator and a W-4 form (which you can get from your payroll administrator or click here to print one now.
Your W-4 is where you claim your allowances. Every allowance you claim equals about $690 in taxes withheld from your paycheck.
So, if you got a refund last year, divide the amount you received by $690. Then, lower your allowances by the nearest whole number (round down). For example, if you got a $1,500 refund, you should lower your allowances by two ($1,500
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