New PGY1 Question

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

therunner12

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2011
Messages
570
Reaction score
9
I'm filling out a W4 for my residency and have started reading about 'above the line' deductions. I will be able to claim the typical 'student loan interest' and the 'moving expenses'. Do these go anywhere on my W4 or will I just wait until next April to get a tax refund for these?

I'm sorry if this a terribly simple question, just trying to see if I can keep that money in my pocket rather than receive it as a refund.

Members don't see this ad.
 
I'm filling out a W4 for my residency and have started reading about 'above the line' deductions. I will be able to claim the typical 'student loan interest' and the 'moving expenses'. Do these go anywhere on my W4 or will I just wait until next April to get a tax refund for these?

I'm sorry if this a terribly simple question, just trying to see if I can keep that money in my pocket rather than receive it as a refund.

You can go ahead and try and forecast your tax liability using standard deduction, moving credits, and any other deduction/credit you may be elegible for. If your only income (assuming you are single) is your resident contract you will likely qualify for all deductions and not have much tax liability (50k salary, 6300 in standard deduction, 4500 for claiming yourself, - moving credit and student loan interest, - 401k contributions = taxable income). If your taxable income is in the 30-35k range your tax burden is very low (4700 in federal taxes if single @35k taxable income).
 
I'm filling out a W4 for my residency and have started reading about 'above the line' deductions. I will be able to claim the typical 'student loan interest' and the 'moving expenses'. Do these go anywhere on my W4 or will I just wait until next April to get a tax refund for these?

I'm sorry if this a terribly simple question, just trying to see if I can keep that money in my pocket rather than receive it as a refund.

are you really paying much student loan interest as a resident? Not deferring during residency?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
There are only 2 numbers that matter on a W4: the claimed number of exemptions and the extra amount of money you want withheld.

The more you put into the second number (this number is often zero), the more money disappears from your paycheck. The more you put into the first number, the less is withheld from your paycheck.

If you want a bigger paycheck and less money withheld from your paycheck, crank up the first number. I think my personal record was eleven, as a single person in the mid 1990s who had a LOT of above and below the line deductions that caused my tax bill to be unusually small that year.
 
My loans arent that bad and I can do a standard repayment plan, so yeah I'll be making significant loan payments.

There are only 2 numbers that matter on a W4: the claimed number of exemptions and the extra amount of money you want withheld.

The more you put into the second number (this number is often zero), the more money disappears from your paycheck. The more you put into the first number, the less is withheld from your paycheck.

If you want a bigger paycheck and less money withheld from your paycheck, crank up the first number. I think my personal record was eleven, as a single person in the mid 1990s who had a LOT of above and below the line deductions that caused my tax bill to be unusually small that year.

Thanks for this explanation. How do you calculate that number 11? I have two right now, one for being single and one for being independent.
 
My loans arent that bad and I can do a standard repayment plan, so yeah I'll be making significant loan payments.



Thanks for this explanation. How do you calculate that number 11? I have two right now, one for being single and one for being independent.
My income and tax liability was simpler and more predictable back then. I basically knew how much total tax I would owe for that year. I just kept filing a new W4 every month or two until my year's withholding matched my year's tax liability.

Thus it wasn't precalculated with a formula. It was found empirically.
 
I think that I filled out '7' exemptions back in my training and ended up with a minimal amount of tax liability at the end. Basically for internship you only work for half a calendar year so you will have a bit of extra money refunded after tax season if you have a small number of exemptions.
 
My loans arent that bad and I can do a standard repayment plan, so yeah I'll be making significant loan payments.

There's a limit to the amount of interest you can deduct. I think it's $2500


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
 
Top