How to fill out Form W-4.

The five steps

1. Step 1: Personal information. Enter your name, address, Social Security number and filing status: Single or Married filing separately, Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse, or Head of household (only if you are unmarried and pay more than half the costs of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying individual). Check your anticipated filing status, which sets the standard deduction and tax rates used.
2. Step 2: Multiple jobs or spouse works. Do this if you hold more than one job at a time, or you are married filing jointly and your spouse also works. Choose one option: the IRS estimator, the Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3 (result goes in Step 4(c)), or, with only two jobs in total, tick the box here and on the other job’s form. Use the multiple jobs calculator.
3. Step 3: Dependents and other credits. If your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less if married filing jointly), multiply qualifying children under age 17 by $2,200 and other dependents by $500, then add any other credits you expect, and enter the total.
4. Step 4: Other adjustments. (a) Other income not from jobs that you want withheld on. (b) The result of the Deductions Worksheet on page 4 if you expect deductions beyond the standard deduction. (c) Extra tax you want withheld each pay period. The steps 2 to 4 estimator works these out.
5. Step 5: Sign. Sign and date. The form is not valid unless you sign it. The employer section is completed by your employer.

Rules worth knowing

• If you have multiple jobs, complete Steps 3 through 4(b) on only one form, ideally the one for your highest-paying job.
• If you do not give your employer a properly completed Form W-4, you are treated as a single person with no other entries.
• To claim exemption from withholding you must meet both conditions for 2026; then you complete only Steps 1(a), 1(b) and 5 and submit a new form by February 16, 2027. See the exemption checker.
• Submit a new Form W-4 when changes to your personal or financial situation would change the entries.
• If you start mid-year, expect to work part of the year, have self-employment income, or have changes during the year, the form recommends the IRS estimator.

Old form with allowances?

Allowances were removed from the 2020 form. See the allowances converter for the equivalent entry. To see the effect of your entries on each paycheck, use the W-4 withholding calculator, and to check that you are on track for the year use the over/under withholding check.

Sources

• IRS Form W-4 (2026), created Dec 8, 2025: Steps 1 to 5, page 2 specific instructions, the exemption rules and the Privacy Act notice (treatment of an incomplete form).
• IRS Tax Withholding Estimator: the IRS online tool the form points to for the most accurate withholding.
• All figures are for tax year 2026 and were retrieved from the IRS in October 2026. The IRS republishes them every year; this page covers 2026 only.