What are the exemptions on your LES and how do you use them?

2014-03-30T01:27:54-04:00

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 30 at 2014 1:50 AM

2014-03-30T01:50:47-04:00

Can you be a bit more specific?

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made Mar 30 at 2014 1:51 AM

2014-03-30T01:51:05-04:00

Here's an explanation:
http://www.dfas.mil/dms/dfas/militarymembers/pdf/Army_reading_your_LES.pdf

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 30 at 2014 9:07 AM

2014-03-30T09:07:45-04:00

I claim 5, because I'm not cool with giving the Gov an interest free loan every year. I have better uses for that money.

Response by SSG William Sutter made Apr 6 at 2014 3:49 PM

2014-04-06T15:49:47-04:00

The W4 that you fill out is reflected on the LES for exemptions. Some MAX it out so they don't pay any taxes until it is time to file for it. Others (like myself) claim zero so they take the max out and get a bigger tax return when they file. It is up to you what you want to do. There are those that are financial experts that will tell you that if you take the money that you would pay in taxes and place that into a savings or other interest bearing account, you will make money off of your taxes instead of the government making the money.

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Apr 20 at 2014 10:05 AM

2014-04-20T10:05:22-04:00

Tax exemptions represent how much you pay in taxes monthly. You will have to pay the same amount in total taxes no matter what, so if you claim too many exemptions, you will have to end up paying the government money back come tax time... if you claim too few, then the government will owe you a refund come tax time. (It's more complicated than this, but this is the simple version that will apply to most people).

Exemptions are properly calculated based on your marital status and how many dependents you have. This is because the more dependents you have, the more tax breaks you are qualified for. If you claim too many exemptions then you are effectively underpaying taxes each month, and you will have to pay it back on tax day. If you underpay by too much, you can also get fined.

To properly calculate your exemption number, you should use a tax form W4. You only have have to do the first page to calculate the exemptions, and once you do it once, it becomes pretty easy. You can download it here:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

Once calculated, you can change your exemptions through MyPay. Single individuals with no children typically have a "1" for exemptions. Those with dependents generally add 1 exemption for each dependent... but you should do the full form to do it properly. If a spouse earns income as well, it makes it a bit more complicated.