AboutHelen P. O`Planick, EA Expertise I am a tax professional, with experience in individual taxation. I would prefer not to answer questions about non-resident aliens or corporate taxation. Please do not ask me state related questions, unless the state is Pennsylvania. There are 42 taxing states and 42 TOTALLY different sets of state tax law.
Experience I have been preparing tax returns almost all my life. I have been in professional practice for 25 years and I am enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service.
Organizations National Association of Enrolled Agents
Publications I am a prior Money Magazine Tax Test taker and have been quoted extensively in all media including monthly periodicals and books by tax authorities.
Question I am starting a new job, I have always been told it is better to claim zero on my taxes when I first set up my taxes. But I am a head of houshold, I have a daughter and spouse as dependants, should I claim them all along? And if I do this, will I owe money at the end of the year? I live in Tennessee. I just want to know if Im better off claiming 3 early or if I should wait. I dont care about getting alot back at the end of the year, but I dont want to have to pay back money by claiming what Im supposed to claim up front.
Answer If your spouse is not a working spouse, and you don't have a lot of untaxed income, you are probably okay claiming married and 2 for your withholding.
However, without knowing a lot more about you, like seeing your last year's return, and that is beyond the scope of this board, my answer is only an educated (a well educated guess) at best.
