Income tax question- Is 21% being held out of each pay a good amount?

I agree with you about the REFUND thing BUT the amounts that really count is the FIT and the SIT amounts that are withheld and reported to you and to the IRS as advance estimated income tax tax that would be in the Box 2 of your W-2 from for the FIT and the SIT amount will in the boxes at the bottom of your W-2 for the state income tax withholding amounts and during the 2013 tax filing season you would get a tax credit on each income tax return for those amounts to be applied to any possible income tax liability amount that you might and when that amount is MORE than your liability amount would be the amount would be used to increase your REFUND amount at that time in your life.

Here you go you can try and do your own estimated tax calculations at this time in your life for this purpose since you are the only one that would know all of the needed necessary information at this time.

www.irs.gov website and use the search box for 2012 Form 1040-ES (OTC)

Estimated Tax for Individuals

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040es.pdf?portlet...

Copy and paste the below enclosed website address into your browser address bar for this purpose.

http://www.dinkytown.net/java/Tax1040.html

Enter your filing status, income, deductions and credits and we will estimate your total taxes for 2012. Based on your projected withholdings for the year, we can also estimate your tax refund or amount you may owe the IRS next April 2013.

In 2011, Federal income tax rates were scheduled to increase to pre-2001 levels, but the "Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010" left the existing tax brackets in place through 2012.

You probably can find an estimated tax calculator for your state income taxes by going to your state income tax department website and use the search box for estimated tax calculator at that time in your life.

I would hope that you do find the above enclosed information useful for your situation and good luck to you with this matter. 10/16/2012

first of all what do you think your refund is, you would like a 'good amount'

that only means you had more of your own money withheld so IRS(gov't) could use your money without paying interest on it so you can get a 'good amount' refunded?

if you have one income and 3 children you very likely could claim at least 8 dependents and possibly still have a refund due

besides your personal exemptions and standard deduction you have the child tax credit for children in the home under 17, this reduces your actual income, depending on your income if you are within the limits of EIC and also the additional child credit that was not absorbed elsewhere

you might go to www.irs.gov and find the W-4 calculator to help you determine your exemptions so you don't have more withheld than needs to be

forced savings? and what to you is savings, just money set aside, or an account that might make a few dollars and a few is more than 0

With a non-working spouse and 3 kids under 17, that's WAY too much. At your income level your federal income tax liability is $0 so no federal income tax should be withheld from your pay at all. Having any withheld is downright foolish.

You'd be much better off by setting aside $80 a week in a savings account. As things stand now, getting a large refund might feel good at the time, but if you need that money now -- say the transmission blows in your car -- you're screwed since there's no way to get your hands on that money early. What's more, that "windfall" of cash all at once is an incentive to waste it instead of handling it wisely.

The only withholding from your pay should be 5.65% for FICA, whatever your state mandates, plus any optional withholding such as for medical insurance or retirement.

How much do you make a year?

If you're the only one working and you have a spouse and 3 qualifying children, you should get a refund. You do realize though that some or all of that refund is your own money that you could have had earlier, in your paychecks, if you hadn't lent it interest-free to the government?