(From SmartMoney.com) Do you have a juicy tax refund coming your way this year? Or were you once again blown away by how much you owe? It could be a sign that the amount your employer is withholding from your paycheck for taxes is out of whack.

Ideally, you should owe Uncle Sam a small amount each year come tax time. If you’re getting a large refund, you’ve given the Internal Revenue Service an interest-free loan for the previous year — and we’re sure you could have come up with a better use for that money than that. On the other hand, if you owe more than 10% of your total tax bill, you could owe an interest-charge penalty for failing to cough up enough in advance of filing your return. And clearly, that’s not an ideal situation either.

Here’s what you need to do to make sure you don’t get surprised again this time next year:

My Bill Is Too Big!

If you work for an employer (as opposed to being self-employed), correcting your withholding amount should be easy. Start by examining your paycheck to see how many exemptions you’ve claimed. (If it’s not listed on your paycheck, someone in human resources should be able to help you.) If you claimed too many exemptions, your withholding won’t be enough to cover this year’s tax bill. (That is, assuming your tax situation is similar to last year’s.) So you may want to refile your W-4 with your employer, with fewer exemptions. This would translate into more withholding from each paycheck. You can get a new Form W-4 from your employer or print one out from the IRS web site.

Read more here: Tax Tips: Don’t Lend Uncle Sam Money at