Getting more money from your paycheck
Use these tips to get more money from your paycheck
- Recall your tax refund from last year. Remember that every dollar you received in a refund is a free loan that you made to the government!
- Review your current W-4 withholdings as listed on your paystub
- Update your W-4 if you have had a significant change in your life in the past year (got a better paying job or lost a job, got married or divorced, had a baby or had a young adult child leave home)
- If your financial situation is similar to last year's, increase your number of withholdings in order to receive more money in each paycheck. A simple method is to take one additional withholding on your W-4 for every $1,000 in refund you received last year.
- Remember that a goal is to receive a refund/owe in taxes less than $1,000
If you like getting a refund each year, consider how you might make the most of it by using a portion to:
- Purchase something you and your family wants
- Reduce or eliminate debt
- Start or increase your emergency savings
- Save towards a goal
- Take care of home or car maintenance