How to fill out the W-4, step by step (2026)

The basics

• You fill it out when you start a job. You don't need a new one every year, only when your situation changes.
• If you don't turn in a W-4, your employer must withhold as if you were single with no adjustments.
• When you turn in a new one, your employer must put it into effect no later than the first payroll period ending 30 days after receiving it.
• There's a Spanish version, Form W-4(SP).
• Complete Steps 2 to 4 only if they apply to you; otherwise go straight to Step 5 and sign.

Step 1: your information

Enter your name, address and Social Security number, and check your expected filing status: "Single or Married filing separately", "Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse" or "Head of household". Check head of household only if you're unmarried and pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying person.

Your name should match your Social Security card. If it doesn't, the form says to call the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 so your earnings are credited correctly.

Step 2: multiple jobs or a working spouse

If you hold more than one job at a time, or you're married filing jointly and both of you work, choose one of these three options:

• Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator (the most accurate, and the one to use if you have self-employment income).
• Use the Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3 and enter the result in Step 4(c).
• Check the Step 2(c) box if there are only two jobs in total, and check it on the W-4 for the other job too. It's accurate when the two jobs pay about the same; if they're very different, more tax than necessary may be withheld.

Fill in Steps 3 to 4(b) on only one W-4, ideally the one for the highest-paying job.

Step 3: children and other dependents

If your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 if married filing jointly), multiply the number of qualifying children under 17 by $2,200 and the number of other dependents by $500. Add the two amounts (plus other credits, if any) and enter the total.

The form warns that some credits and deductions require a Social Security number valid for employment (for you or your spouse, if filing jointly). If you won't be able to claim the Child Tax Credit on your return, don't enter it here: too little would be withheld.

Step 4: other adjustments (optional)

• 4(a) Other income not from a job, such as interest, dividends or retirement income.
• 4(b) Deductions. The 2026 Deductions Worksheet on page 4 includes the new deductions: tips (up to $25,000), the extra part of overtime pay (up to $12,500, or $25,000 if filing jointly), car loan interest (up to $10,000), $6,000 per person 65 or older, and cash gifts to charity of up to $1,000 ($2,000 jointly) if you take the standard deduction. Each has an income limit (for example, the senior deduction shrinks if your income is over $75,000, or $150,000 jointly), and the car loan interest deduction is only for new vehicles assembled in the U.S. with a loan taken out after 2024. It also covers itemized deductions and other adjustments.
• 4(c) Extra withholding: a fixed extra amount you want withheld from each paycheck.

Only enter deductions in 4(b) that you'll really be able to claim: the tips, overtime and senior deductions require a Social Security number valid for employment and, if you're married, filing jointly.

Step 5: sign

The form isn't valid unless you sign it. By signing, you declare under penalties of perjury that the information is true.

Exempt from withholding

You can ask for no federal income tax to be withheld only if you meet both conditions: you had no federal income tax liability in 2025 and you expect none in 2026. The 2026 W-4 has a new checkbox for this below Step 4(c); if you check it, you fill in only Steps 1(a), 1(b) and 5.

The exemption lasts one year: to stay exempt you must turn in a new W-4 by February 16, 2027. Being a student doesn't make you exempt automatically.

When to turn in a new one

When something changes that affects your entries: you marry or divorce, have a child, get a second job, or your spouse starts working. If the change reduces what you can claim on your W-4, the IRS asks you to turn in a new one within 10 days. For other changes, you can do it whenever you want.

The IRS recommends checking your withholding early each year with its Tax Withholding Estimator. Have your most recent pay stubs (and your spouse's) and your latest tax return on hand.

Penalties, nonresidents and your state

• Making statements on your W-4 with no reasonable basis so that less is withheld can cost a $500 penalty. An honest mistake isn't penalized.
• If you're a nonresident alien for tax purposes (that's not the same as having an ITIN; it depends on IRS tests), follow Notice 1392: check single or married filing separately regardless of your actual status, don't claim exemption, write "NRA" below Step 4(c), generally don't use Step 3 (except some residents of Canada, Mexico, South Korea or India), and don't use the Estimator.
• The W-4 covers federal tax only. Many states have their own withholding form; ask your employer.