claiming two dependants

At work it's "withholding allowances" on his W-4, and that's not the same thing as dependents on a return. Per the instructions on the W-4, if he's single supporting no one other than himself, cannot be claimed as a dependent on anybody else's return, and works only one job, he should claim two withholding allowances on his W-4. Were I you I wouldn't go any further than asking him whether he went through the worksheet on the W-4.

-- Phil Marti Clarksburg, MD

No problem,

This a common situation, many people claim more exemptions of their FORM W-4 to reduce the amount of taxes with held in the weekly pay check, so long as a sufficient amount is with held through the year to cover actual taxes due he will be ok. The tax return FORM 1040 should reflect the correct amount of exemptions, in his case, ONE.

No, he claims two exemptions. An 'exemption' means "I have a dependent or a $3000 tax deduction, so please withhold less tax." (a bit of oversimplification). When I was young and stupid, I had a mortgage that cost me half my monthly income, and I claimed 12 exemptions. At the end of the year, between mortgage interest, property tax, state tax, etc., that was about the right number. In the end, what counts for your boyfriend is if he owes money (a bit is ok) or getting a refund (more than $1000 and he should up his exemption further) JOE

Probably not. If he has other deductions (mortgage, real estate taxes, etc.) then he should claim more exemptions than he has dependents.

Just follow the instructions.

He might end up owing taxes at filing; if the amount isn't too large, there's no problem. (If it is, he owes a little interest along with the taxes.) Seth