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 Tax 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 currently work overseas and pay taxes in Brazil. I receive a tax credit for those taxes that I use with the IRS. After filing I haven’t owed the IRS anything due to my credit. I want to claim exempt in 2014 but do not want to pay the IRS any more then my credit covers at time of filing. I wanted to file exempt on my W-4 form so no taxes are taking out my check. However I only wanted to go tax exempt for a 3 or 4 paychecks then go back to paying taxes. I understand I will have to pay back that money come tax time. How do I fill out the W-4 form? I incorrectly filed as exempt from withholding when I filled out my W-4 a week or two ago. I recently realized that I will be making around 7000 or 8000 this year, which is definitely above the withholding exemption range. Is there a penalty for doing this incorrectly? If so, how can I get this corrected? I am a single mother of 1 and working full time. Can I file exempt on my w-4? Please help. I live in Maryland and I’m 19 years old and claimed as a dependent. Can I work 2 jobs this summer, which would earn an income <$5700, and still not pay federal taxes? Someone said that if you work 2 jobs you must pay full taxes, and someone else said I can work as many jobs as I want and as long as I still make less than $5700 I will get money back. Any help? Thanks! if i file exempt do taxes still get taking out of my check I’m a paid intern and my first summer, I had nothing taken out of my checks because I was told to put “0” on my w-4 form. Then, the next summer rolls around and I put “1” on a few of the lines and they started taking out state but not federal. Now, another summer later they’re taking out state and federal. Could I file exempt to receive my full check again w/o any penalties? Im wondering I haven’t been getting california tax taken out of my paychecks for like 4 months so far I have one child if I file my taxes at the end of the year will I still recive anything back? Hi Carol, It all depends on your income and tax deductions. It’s hard to say without seeing your full situation. Also, state taxes are a little different from federal taxes since with federal you may be eligible for refundable credits(credits you may be eligible for without paying taxes like Earned Income Tax Credits). 4 months may not hurt you, but you may want to start deducting state taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis I only made 26,00 year and I claim nine people on my paycheck. Will i receive a refund at the end of this year ? I filed Exempt back in January. my son was born in March I didn’t receive any income for 8-9 weeks while I was out on maternity leave. When do I change my W-4 back to 1. My husband is going to claim our son. Would we still receive a refund? Hello. I just got an internship this summer. I’m a college student and will be only working over the summer for the internship. Is it ok for me to file exempt? I don’t want any taxes taken out because I will not make over 10,000 during the summer. So if I file exempt is it possible I will owe the government money at the end of the year? And lastly, do companies usually allow to you change your W-2 throughout the year? Thank you. « Older Comments Newer Comments » Browse Related Articles Tax Deductions and Credits I Claimed Exempt, Can I Still Get a Tax Refund? Tax Planning IRS Reports Tax Refunds are Up This Year Tax Refunds What To Expect When You’re Expecting…a Tax Refund Tax Planning Did You Miss the Tax Deadline? 3 Steps You Can Take Next TurboTax News Government Shutdown 2019 Update: You Can File Now With TurboTax Tax Tips 10 Popular Tax Myths Busted by Actress Jenny Lorenzo Tax Refunds Offsets for Taxes: What It Means & What to Do Family How Child Support Affects Your Taxes Tax Refunds File Your Taxes: You May Have Unclaimed Refunds Waiting Tax Deductions and Credits TurboTax Answers the Top 5 Commonly Asked Tax Questions for 2014
I currently work overseas and pay taxes in Brazil. I receive a tax credit for those taxes that I use with the IRS. After filing I haven’t owed the IRS anything due to my credit. I want to claim exempt in 2014 but do not want to pay the IRS any more then my credit covers at time of filing.
I wanted to file exempt on my W-4 form so no taxes are taking out my check. However I only wanted to go tax exempt for a 3 or 4 paychecks then go back to paying taxes. I understand I will have to pay back that money come tax time. How do I fill out the W-4 form?
I incorrectly filed as exempt from withholding when I filled out my W-4 a week or two ago. I recently realized that I will be making around 7000 or 8000 this year, which is definitely above the withholding exemption range. Is there a penalty for doing this incorrectly? If so, how can I get this corrected?
I live in Maryland and I’m 19 years old and claimed as a dependent. Can I work 2 jobs this summer, which would earn an income <$5700, and still not pay federal taxes? Someone said that if you work 2 jobs you must pay full taxes, and someone else said I can work as many jobs as I want and as long as I still make less than $5700 I will get money back. Any help? Thanks!
I’m a paid intern and my first summer, I had nothing taken out of my checks because I was told to put “0” on my w-4 form. Then, the next summer rolls around and I put “1” on a few of the lines and they started taking out state but not federal. Now, another summer later they’re taking out state and federal. Could I file exempt to receive my full check again w/o any penalties?
Im wondering I haven’t been getting california tax taken out of my paychecks for like 4 months so far I have one child if I file my taxes at the end of the year will I still recive anything back?
Hi Carol, It all depends on your income and tax deductions. It’s hard to say without seeing your full situation. Also, state taxes are a little different from federal taxes since with federal you may be eligible for refundable credits(credits you may be eligible for without paying taxes like Earned Income Tax Credits). 4 months may not hurt you, but you may want to start deducting state taxes. Thank you, Lisa Greene-Lewis
I only made 26,00 year and I claim nine people on my paycheck. Will i receive a refund at the end of this year ?
I filed Exempt back in January. my son was born in March I didn’t receive any income for 8-9 weeks while I was out on maternity leave. When do I change my W-4 back to 1. My husband is going to claim our son. Would we still receive a refund?
Hello. I just got an internship this summer. I’m a college student and will be only working over the summer for the internship. Is it ok for me to file exempt? I don’t want any taxes taken out because I will not make over 10,000 during the summer. So if I file exempt is it possible I will owe the government money at the end of the year? And lastly, do companies usually allow to you change your W-2 throughout the year? Thank you.