I Want My Per Diem Right Now!

[Blind Driver]

I got this new job, but it's a smaller company that won't give me my per diem. Looks like I'll have wait until the end of the year, or is there another way to get it sooner? Maybe quarterly?

Or how should I adjust my taxes to make up the difference. I don't mind paying a little, but I don't want to get a huge refund.

[crb]

You can adjust your taxes. No you can't get it quarterly and 90% or more of the time you get short changed on per firm.

[GMAN]

When you get a big refund on taxes you have paid too much tax during the year. If you want a smaller refund, then you need to lower the number of dependents you claim.

[MichiganDriver]

Like the other guys said, you need to change your exemptions on your W4. Less taxes taken out each week means that you're getting your per diem right now, instead of having to wait for it.

The question of course is how many exemptions you need to add to equal your per diem. Be careful here because the IRS will penalize you if you underpay your taxes and owe them a bunch at the end of the year. The IRS has a calculator that can help you figure out your exemptions but it's geared towards people that earn the same amount each week.

What I did was trial and error. By increasing your exemptions and comparing 2 paychecks (before and after) where you did the same number of miles you can see if you're getting pretty close.