We plan to itemize our deductions for 2009 as we will be buying a house soon (closing in Jan/Feb). Even with mortgage interest, property tax, etc., I can only get my allowanced up to 5. That means I will still expect a significant refund in 2010.

Any ideas of how to fill-in the Form to get me up to allowances of 8-10?

What, other than the Kiplinger calculator, are you using to calculate the allowances for the W-4 where you only get up to 5? Here is a link to the IRS withholding calcultor: http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96196,00.html I have found it to be pretty accurate, as long as all the inputs are correct.

I don't know if the IRS calculator has been updated with the 2009 tax rates, etc. yet, but the great thing about the W-4 is that it's easy to make corrections multiple times throughout the year. So, you can change the W-4 allowances now, and then run the calculator again several more times throughout the year with updated information, updating the W-4 with your employer each time.

AJ