Hi everyone and welcome back to the Money Girl Podcast, a show that helps you master your money

so you can live rich and love the journey. My name is Laura Adams. I'm a personal finance expert,

author, speaker, and spokesperson. You can learn more about me at LauraD Adams.com.

Everyone wants to cut taxes, right? We don't want to pay more than we have to.

And you can't avoid them.

But fortunately, there are many ways to legally pay less

so you keep more of your hard-earned money. So that's what we're going to cover

in this show. I'll answer six questions about taxes that came in from Money Girl readers,

listeners, and private Facebook group members.

Plus a bonus question from a Twitter follower.

This Q&A will help you understand how to pay less tax, defer it, or to boost your tax refund every year.

So we have a lot to cover today.

I'm probably covering more in the show than I should,

but I wanted to make sure to cover all of the recent questions

that have come in.

This is episode number 434 called Financial Q&A, Tips to Pay less tax or get a bigger refund.

So let's jump right in.

Question number one comes from Chesley. She says, my W4 says that I'm married, but I've actually

been divorced for a few years. Is it important to update that? Or is the status that I put on my tax return what really matters?

Thanks, Chesley. The filing status you enter on your tax return is what's most important because it determines how much tax

you'll owe. However, if you're an employee you should update your W4 anytime you

have a life change such as getting married or divorced, having a child,

...