Help with tax withholding form - confused college student working part-time 2 days a week - should I put 0.00 or not?

This sounds like you're filling out a W-4 form, which tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from your paychecks. As a part-time college student, your situation is pretty common! The form has changed in recent years. If you're using the newer version, there's no longer a place to claim "allowances" but rather dollar amounts for additional withholding. If you're seeing a place to put a dollar amount, that's likely asking if you want EXTRA money withheld from each paycheck. For most college students working part-time (16 hours/week), you'll probably have very low tax liability. If your expected annual income from this job will be under about $12,950, you likely won't owe any federal income tax at all. My suggestion would be to put "0.00" in that additional withholding box unless you have other income sources. This means you're not asking for extra withholding beyond the standard calculation. Since your parents claim you as a dependent, make sure to check the box that indicates this status if it asks.

After stressing about this exact same thing last year, I found this tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that seriously saved me. I was working part-time at the university bookstore and had no idea what to put on my W-4. The site analyzes your specific situation and gives you clear guidance on how to fill out these confusing tax forms. You can upload a picture of your W-4 and it'll explain each field, including whether you should put 0.00 for your specific situation as a college student. It even considers that your parents claim you as a dependent. Way easier than trying to decipher the IRS instructions or getting different answers from friends.

Just wanted to update that I checked out taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here and it was actually super helpful! I uploaded my W-4 and it explained everything in simple terms. Turns out for my situation (also a part-time student worker), putting 0.00 was the right choice since I won't make enough this year to owe federal taxes. It also explained how to adjust if I pick up more hours during summer break. The education credit explanation for my 1098-T was amazing too - apparently I missed out on like $1,500 last year because I didn't know about the American Opportunity Credit! Definitely using this for my taxes next year.

Listen, I spent FOUR HOURS on hold with the IRS trying to get an answer about dependent status for my college-age daughter last month. Total nightmare. Then someone told me about this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that gets the IRS to call YOU back instead of waiting on hold forever. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was skeptical but desperate after multiple failed attempts to reach someone. Used it and got a call back from an actual IRS agent in about 45 minutes. They answered all my withholding questions and explained exactly what my daughter needed to put on her W-4 as a part-time student worker. Huge time saver.

I need to eat my words. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway since I've been trying to reach the IRS about a missing refund for WEEKS. It actually worked exactly as described. I got a call back from a real IRS agent in about an hour. Confirmed my identity with them and everything. They were able to look up my account and explain what was happening with my refund. For the original poster - while on the call I also asked about student withholding on W-4 forms. The agent confirmed that for most part-time students working under 20 hours a week, putting 0.00 for additional withholding is typically appropriate, especially if you're claimed as a dependent and won't make more than $12,950 this year. Definitely recommend calling the IRS directly if you're still unsure, and this service made it way less painful than I expected.

Hey, former payroll specialist here. One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you're only working 2 days a week, you might want to check if this is the W-4 or your state's equivalent withholding form. Different states have different forms and rules. For example, if you're in California filling out a DE-4, the rules are a bit different than the federal W-4. Make sure you know which form you're actually working with!

Just a heads up - if your parents are claiming you as a dependent, make sure you select the box that says "Someone can claim me as a dependent" on your federal W-4. This is super important! My son messed this up last year and it caused his withholding to be calculated incorrectly. The form assumes you're taking the standard deduction for a single independent person unless you check that box.

As someone who works in tax preparation, I want to emphasize something that might help clarify the confusion here. The W-4 form has two main purposes: 1) telling your employer your filing status and dependency situation, and 2) calculating how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck. For your specific situation as a part-time college student working 16 hours/week and claimed as a dependent, here's what you should do: 1. Make sure to check the box that says "Someone can claim me as a dependent" (as Miguel mentioned - this is crucial!) 2. Put "0.00" in the additional withholding amount box 3. Don't claim exempt from withholding unless you had zero tax liability last year AND expect zero this year The "0.00" doesn't mean zero taxes will be withheld - it means zero ADDITIONAL withholding beyond what the form calculates based on your pay and dependency status. Given your low hours and dependent status, this should result in appropriate withholding that covers any tax you might owe without taking too much from your small paychecks. If you end up working more hours (like summer full-time), you can always submit a new W-4 to adjust your withholding.