Filling out W4 for new teaching position - how many dependents to claim?

Hey everyone, I'm a 42 year old single teacher starting at a new school district this fall. I'm the head of household with two kids - my son who's turning 15 in October and my daughter who's 21 and in college. My daughter works part-time and files her own taxes now. For the past few tax seasons, I've been disappointed with my returns. I used to get around $2500 back, but lately it's been barely anything. With this new teaching position, I need to fill out a new W4 form and want to make sure I'm doing it right. I want to have enough withheld throughout the year so I don't owe anything, but I'd also like to get something back when I file. I know my refund won't be as large as in the past since I can only claim my son as a dependent now. On Step 3 of the W4, should I put "1" for just my son, or should I put "2" to include myself as well? I'm confused about whether I count myself as a dependent on the W4 form. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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18 comments

Melody Miles

•8M

The W4 form can definitely be confusing! On Step 3 of the W4, you should only put "1" for your dependent son. You don't count yourself as a dependent - Step 3 is specifically for claiming dependents like qualifying children or relatives. Your son qualifies as your dependent since he's under 17, so you'd list him and the associated tax credit amount. Your daughter doesn't qualify for this section since she files her own taxes and is over 19 (unless she meets specific qualifying student requirements). If you want to have more tax withheld to potentially get a larger refund, you can use Step 4(c) to request additional withholding from each paycheck. Just keep in mind that while getting a refund feels nice, it essentially means you're giving the government an interest-free loan throughout the year.

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Melody Miles

•8M

The W4 form was completely redesigned in 2020, which is why it might seem different from what you remember. The old W4 used allowances (0, 1, 2, etc.) where you could claim yourself, but the new form eliminated that system. The new W4 is designed to be more straightforward and accurate. There's no place to "claim yourself" anymore. Instead, your standard deduction is automatically built into the withholding calculations. If you're head of household with one dependent child under 17, you would just put "1" in Step 3 for your son and the appropriate credit amount.

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Eva St. Cyr

•8M

I was in almost the exact same situation last year! The redesigned W4 was super confusing at first, but I found using https://taxr.ai really helpful for figuring out the right withholding strategy. I uploaded my previous year's tax return and my job offer, and it analyzed everything to show me exactly what to put on each line of my W4 to get the outcome I wanted. The tool explained that for teachers specifically, there are some unique considerations because of our 9/10-month pay schedules that can sometimes cause underwithholding if not set up properly. It helped me understand that putting just my one dependent (my son) on line 3 was correct, and then showed me exactly how much additional withholding I should request to get the refund I was targeting.

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Eva St. Cyr

•8M

The recommendation was surprisingly accurate! I ended up getting a refund just $78 less than what was predicted, which was way better than I expected. The tool adjusted for my retirement contributions to our state teacher retirement system too, which I wasn't expecting. Yes, it definitely works for married filing jointly situations and actually has specific features for households with mixed income types. It can help you figure out the right withholding when one spouse has variable contractor income. It shows you different scenarios based on projected earnings and helps avoid that surprise tax bill at the end of the year.

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Kaitlyn Otto

•8M

I wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after taking the suggestion from an earlier comment. I was skeptical at first (I've tried other tax calculators that were way off), but it was genuinely helpful for my husband and me with our complicated tax situation. The analysis showed that we were significantly underwithholding because of how my teacher salary withholding was calculated compared to my husband's contractor income. It recommended a specific additional withholding amount for my W4 rather than trying to adjust his quarterly payments, which was much easier to manage. We just filed our taxes last month and got a small refund instead of owing $3,200 like last year! The peace of mind was absolutely worth it, and I've already adjusted my withholding for this coming year based on their updated recommendations.

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Axel Far

•8M

As someone who spent hours trying to get through to the IRS last year to fix a withholding issue, I'd recommend checking out https://claimyr.com instead of calling the IRS directly if you have questions about your W4. I discovered this service after spending literally days trying to reach someone at the IRS about a similar dependent question. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes when I'd been trying for weeks on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The agent I spoke with clarified that for the new W4, you should only list actual dependents in Step 3 (so just your son in your case), and they explained exactly how the Head of Household status affects the calculation.

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Axel Far

•8M

The IRS phone line is absolutely free - Claimyr just manages the hold time for you so you don't have to sit by your phone for hours. They use an automated system to stay on hold, then call you once they have an agent on the line so you can jump right into your conversation with the IRS. They navigate the IRS phone tree and wait through the hold time, which has been averaging 2-3 hours lately. When they get a representative, they call you immediately and connect you. I was skeptical too until I tried it - it's basically just paying to avoid the ridiculous hold times. After trying to reach someone for weeks on my own, getting through in 45 minutes was worth it to me.

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Jasmine Hernandez

•8M

I need to apologize for my skeptical comment earlier. After 4 failed attempts trying to reach the IRS on my own about a tax levy issue (kept getting disconnected after 1+ hour holds), I broke down and tried Claimyr. Within 40 minutes I was talking to an actual IRS representative who helped resolve my issue! The rep explained how the W4 dependent question works now too - only claim actual qualifying dependents on line 3 (children under 17 for the child tax credit). For the original poster: definitely just put "1" for your son on Step 3. The agent confirmed that claiming yourself isn't a thing on the new W4 forms. If you want a bigger refund, you'd use line 4(c) to request additional withholding.

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Ellie Kim

•8M

Yes, you would check "Head of Household" in Step 1(c) and then put "1" for your son in Step 3. The Head of Household selection automatically adjusts your withholding calculations to account for the higher standard deduction and more favorable tax brackets that come with that filing status. This combination (HOH status + claiming your qualifying child) should help ensure your withholding is more accurate. If you want a slightly larger refund, you can add a small additional amount in Step 4(c) - maybe $25-50 per paycheck depending on your comfort level.

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