Taxes 101 Can I File Exempt & Still Get a Tax Refund? Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by TurboTaxLisa Published Feb 28, 2024 - [Updated Dec 19, 2024] 4 min read Last tax season, more than 75% of taxpayers received a tax refund, and the average refund was over $3,000. You can get started now with TurboTax and get closer to your tax refund, and if you have questions on your taxes, you can connect live via one-way video to a TurboTax Live tax expert with an average of 12 years of experience to get your tax questions answered from the comfort of your couch. As you may already know, the IRS issues tax refunds when you pay more tax during the year than you actually owe. When you file exempt with your employer for federal tax withholding, you do not make any tax payments during the year. Without paying tax, you do not qualify for a tax refund unless you qualify to claim a refundable tax credit, like the Earned Income Tax Credit. The tax law requires your employer to withhold federal income tax from each paycheck you receive and send it to the IRS on a quarterly basis. At tax time, your employer provides you with a W-2 Form that reports the total amount of taxes withheld during the year. When you sit down to do your taxes, if the taxes you owe are less than the total amount withheld, the IRS will send you a tax refund for the difference. Generally, if you are self-employed and expect to owe $1,000 or more, you are required to make income tax payments every three months throughout the year. If you have questions, we have TurboTax Live Premium tax experts, available in English and Spanish, to help you with your personal and business income and expenses. Table of Contents Filing exempt from withholdingUpdate your W-4Refundable tax credits Filing exempt from withholding When you start a job, your employer will ask you to fill out IRS Form W-4. The W-4 helps you estimate the amount that should be withheld from each paycheck based on the tax information you provide. To claim an exemption from withholding, you must meet certain criteria. If you had even $1 of tax liability in the prior year or anticipate earning income in excess of the sum of your standard deduction ($13,850 single, $20,800 head of household, $27,700 married filing jointly), you cannot be exempt from federal tax withholding in the current year. For example, if you file as single on your 2023 taxes, you must not anticipate earning income in excess of the standard deduction of $13,850. If you still claim exempt from withholding and earn income in excess of this amount, you will probably owe some taxes unless you qualify for refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit or the Child Tax Credit. Update your W-4 If you are unable to claim exempt from withholding, you can still reduce the amount that is withheld from your paycheck by updating your W-4 and changing your withholding. There is a redesigned IRS W-4 now called the W-4 Employee’s Withholding Certificate instead of the W-4 Withholding Allowance Certificate that has been updated to reflect changes under tax reform. The IRS W-4 was redesigned to align with changes under tax reform and to help taxpayers figure out their correct withholding after tax law changes. One of the biggest changes on the W-4 form was the elimination of personal allowances since allowances were tied to the dependent and personal exemption which were eliminated. The redesigned W-4 will take into account whether you can claim the Child Tax Credit and whether you can claim tax deductions other than the standard deduction, both of which can reduce your withholding. Refundable tax credits A refundable tax credit means that even if you have zero tax liability before claiming the tax credit, you may still get a tax refund. Refundable tax credits not only reduce federal taxes you owe, but they also could result in a tax refund even if the tax credit is more than the tax you owe. For example, the American Opportunity Tax Credit that covers certain higher education expenses is 40 percent refundable, and the Earned Income Tax Credit is fully refundable, so if you are eligible for these tax credits you may see a tax refund even if you paid no income tax for the year. No matter what moves you made last year, TurboTax will make them count on your taxes. Whether you want to do your taxes yourself or have a TurboTax expert file for you, we’ll make sure you get every dollar you deserve and your biggest possible refund – guaranteed. Get started now Previous Post Estimated Quarterly Taxes Dates in 2025 Next Post Is Workers’ Compensation Taxable? Everything You Need to Know Written by Lisa Greene-Lewis Lisa has over 20 years of experience in tax preparation. Her success is attributed to being able to interpret tax laws and help clients better understand them. She has held positions as a public auditor, controller, and operations manager. Lisa has appeared on the Steve Harvey Show, the Ellen Show, and major news broadcast to break down tax laws and help taxpayers understand what tax laws mean to them. For Lisa, getting timely and accurate information out to taxpayers to help them keep more of their money is paramount. More from Lisa Greene-Lewis Follow Lisa Greene-Lewis on Twitter. 188 responses to “Can I File Exempt & Still Get a Tax Refund?” « Older Comments Newer Comments » I earn 12.00 an hour and work about 23 hours a week, I am also a full time student with a child. I claim 3 exemptions on my payroll and no federal taxes have been coming out, my worry is will I owe money at the end of the year and will I still be able to get my earned income credit? Hi I am a full time college student and my parents still claim me also. I will make about 4,000 this summer from an Internship and in the fall and spring I will have workstudy that’s would be up to 1,500. I am not sure of what to put on my w-4 for this summer it was at default on 1 but I changed it to 0 because to many taxes were taken out. What should I do to be safe ? If I did a tax exemption for a couple of weeks in the year, is this supposed to just come out of my refund? (I was under this impression.) Randomly, I was taxed a few paychecks later and almost 3/4 of my paycheck was taken. Isn’t it supposed to deduct from my refund when I file rather than tax me extra at a later date without being notified? can i file taxes if i have a baby and is in school but not working I have a question i claimed head of household and also 3 on my w-2 form. I do not pay into federal taxes at the end of the year since i only make 9.00 a hour every week getting paid will i still have to owe the IRS? And can i still get a refund for my children? Hi Krista, It is possible that you may not owe due to your income. In addition, you may be eligible for EITC and the child and dependent care credit. Please see the links to these blogs: http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2012/01/30/what-is-the-earned-income-tax-credit-2/ http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/27/tax-credits-available-at-tax-time/ Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Hi, I started a new job on 5/21/2012 and my federal exempt is 10 and on my first pay check no federal tax were taken out. What does that mean? Can that hurt me or will I have to pay the IRS or not get a refund. Personally I rather not get a refund than pay the IRS. I have 3 dependents my unempled spouse, and 2 children under 18. Should I change my w4? Hi Josi, If you do not have taxes taken out you may have to pay the IRS, but without knowing all of your tax deductions and your income it is hard to say. Some people have enough deductions that they don’t owe even if they did not take out federal taxes. You can use our W-4 salary calculator to help you figure out the correct amount of exemptions for 2012. Here is the link http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/ It is not updated for 2012 yet, but it can still assist you in estimating. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis Recent news stories make it clear that there are agirluctural tax advantages in Florida, but the land must be used agirlucturally. Talk to your county assessors and state tax offices. i am paying back taxes to the IRS for taxes owed 2009. can i still file exempt w/my employer or is this a tax liability my two daughters are going to college full time. they work in the summer full time and make about $3500 – 4000 . In the school year they work at college and make about $1500. We claim them as dependents. What should they claim on their W2 form as exeptions? They want to get as much money as they can from their pay checks. But at the same time do not want to owe taxes at the end the year. What should they claim a 2 or 3 as exepctions? Hi Berneita, You were asking what your daughters should claim on their W2s, but I think you are referring to the W4. Your daughters need to notify their employers how many exemptions they want to take on their W4 forms by filling out and giving them W4 forms. Claiming 2 or 3 is probably safe, but without seeing the entire financial picture I can not tell you what they should claim. They can use our W4 Salary Calculator that will help them figure out how many exemptions they should claim based on their income and how much taxes they have had taken out. The W4 Salary Calculator is not updated for 2012, but can still be used to help them http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/index.jsp After using the salary calculator, they should fill out the W4 form with the exemption amount and give it to their employer. Thank you, Lisa Lewis http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com question can a employer force u to file dependants on w2, my current employer stated i can not file EXEMPT, who is an employer to tell me how i should file?? he stated if i file EXEMPT, he then would be liable to pay my taxes that should of been taken out, i have been filing EXEMPT for years now, this is the 1st employer that has ever given me such grief over filing EXEMPT, so my question would be , would the employer be liable for the way i file EXEMPT??? Thank you Jim Hi Jim, To qualify for exemption, you must not have had any tax liability the previous year and you cannot expect to have any in the current year. If you can be claimed as a dependent on someone elses tax return there may be other restrictions. If you do not meet these qualifications the IRS may send you what is called a “Lock-In Letter”, which tells you how many exemptions you have to claim. If you received this type of letter from the IRS, then this would be the situation where they would have to follow the Lock-In Letter. Please see IRS topic 753 for more information http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc753.html Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis I have a question, i wanna file exempt with my current employer, but my employer is stating i can not do this because he will be liable for paying my withholding taxes. i know he is wrong, i’ve been doing this for 15 years now, is there some type of info out there showing the employer is not responsible my my withholding and it is all on me not the employer, since when can a employer tell a employee how to file???? any input would be appreciated Thank you Jim « Older Comments Newer Comments » Browse Related Articles Tax Deductions and Credits I Claimed Exempt, Can I Still Get a Tax Refund? 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I earn 12.00 an hour and work about 23 hours a week, I am also a full time student with a child. I claim 3 exemptions on my payroll and no federal taxes have been coming out, my worry is will I owe money at the end of the year and will I still be able to get my earned income credit?
Hi I am a full time college student and my parents still claim me also. I will make about 4,000 this summer from an Internship and in the fall and spring I will have workstudy that’s would be up to 1,500. I am not sure of what to put on my w-4 for this summer it was at default on 1 but I changed it to 0 because to many taxes were taken out. What should I do to be safe ?
If I did a tax exemption for a couple of weeks in the year, is this supposed to just come out of my refund? (I was under this impression.) Randomly, I was taxed a few paychecks later and almost 3/4 of my paycheck was taken. Isn’t it supposed to deduct from my refund when I file rather than tax me extra at a later date without being notified?
I have a question i claimed head of household and also 3 on my w-2 form. I do not pay into federal taxes at the end of the year since i only make 9.00 a hour every week getting paid will i still have to owe the IRS? And can i still get a refund for my children?
Hi Krista, It is possible that you may not owe due to your income. In addition, you may be eligible for EITC and the child and dependent care credit. Please see the links to these blogs: http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2012/01/30/what-is-the-earned-income-tax-credit-2/ http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/2011/12/27/tax-credits-available-at-tax-time/ Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Hi, I started a new job on 5/21/2012 and my federal exempt is 10 and on my first pay check no federal tax were taken out. What does that mean? Can that hurt me or will I have to pay the IRS or not get a refund. Personally I rather not get a refund than pay the IRS. I have 3 dependents my unempled spouse, and 2 children under 18. Should I change my w4?
Hi Josi, If you do not have taxes taken out you may have to pay the IRS, but without knowing all of your tax deductions and your income it is hard to say. Some people have enough deductions that they don’t owe even if they did not take out federal taxes. You can use our W-4 salary calculator to help you figure out the correct amount of exemptions for 2012. Here is the link http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/ It is not updated for 2012 yet, but it can still assist you in estimating. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
Recent news stories make it clear that there are agirluctural tax advantages in Florida, but the land must be used agirlucturally. Talk to your county assessors and state tax offices.
i am paying back taxes to the IRS for taxes owed 2009. can i still file exempt w/my employer or is this a tax liability
my two daughters are going to college full time. they work in the summer full time and make about $3500 – 4000 . In the school year they work at college and make about $1500. We claim them as dependents. What should they claim on their W2 form as exeptions? They want to get as much money as they can from their pay checks. But at the same time do not want to owe taxes at the end the year. What should they claim a 2 or 3 as exepctions?
Hi Berneita, You were asking what your daughters should claim on their W2s, but I think you are referring to the W4. Your daughters need to notify their employers how many exemptions they want to take on their W4 forms by filling out and giving them W4 forms. Claiming 2 or 3 is probably safe, but without seeing the entire financial picture I can not tell you what they should claim. They can use our W4 Salary Calculator that will help them figure out how many exemptions they should claim based on their income and how much taxes they have had taken out. The W4 Salary Calculator is not updated for 2012, but can still be used to help them http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tools/calculators/w4/index.jsp After using the salary calculator, they should fill out the W4 form with the exemption amount and give it to their employer. Thank you, Lisa Lewis http://blog.turbotax.intuit.com
question can a employer force u to file dependants on w2, my current employer stated i can not file EXEMPT, who is an employer to tell me how i should file?? he stated if i file EXEMPT, he then would be liable to pay my taxes that should of been taken out, i have been filing EXEMPT for years now, this is the 1st employer that has ever given me such grief over filing EXEMPT, so my question would be , would the employer be liable for the way i file EXEMPT??? Thank you Jim
Hi Jim, To qualify for exemption, you must not have had any tax liability the previous year and you cannot expect to have any in the current year. If you can be claimed as a dependent on someone elses tax return there may be other restrictions. If you do not meet these qualifications the IRS may send you what is called a “Lock-In Letter”, which tells you how many exemptions you have to claim. If you received this type of letter from the IRS, then this would be the situation where they would have to follow the Lock-In Letter. Please see IRS topic 753 for more information http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc753.html Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
I have a question, i wanna file exempt with my current employer, but my employer is stating i can not do this because he will be liable for paying my withholding taxes. i know he is wrong, i’ve been doing this for 15 years now, is there some type of info out there showing the employer is not responsible my my withholding and it is all on me not the employer, since when can a employer tell a employee how to file???? any input would be appreciated Thank you Jim