If you received a large refund this year, you may want to adjust your withholding. Each year, millions of taxpayers claim an income tax refund. 当然, receiving a payment from the IRS for a few thousand dollars can be a pleasant influx of cash. But it means you were essentially giving the government an interest-free loan for close to a year, 哪一种不是最好的花钱方式.
幸运的是, there’s a way to begin collecting your 2024 refund now: You can review the amounts you’re having withheld – and any estimated tax payments you’re making – and adjust them to keep more money in your pocket during the year.
选择调整
It’s particularly important to check your withholding and/or estimated tax payments if you have:
- 收到了一笔特别大的2023年退款，
- 结婚，离婚或增加了一个受抚养人，
- 买了房子，或者
- 开始或失去一份工作.
Withholding or estimated tax payment changes might also be warranted if your investment income has changed significantly.
做出改变
You can modify your withholding at any time during the year, or even more than once a year. To do so, simply submit a new Form W-4 to your employer. Changes typically will go into effect several weeks after the new Form W-4 is submitted. For estimated tax payments, you can adjust each time quarterly payments are due.
While reducing your withholding or estimated tax payments will put more money in your pocket now, you also need to be careful that you don’t reduce them too much. If you don’t pay enough tax throughout the year on a timely basis, you could end up owing interest and penalties when you file your return, even if you pay your outstanding tax liability by the deadline in April 2025.
