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Internal Revenue Service

Fill out Form W-4 online

Employee’s Withholding Certificate

Form W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from your pay, and you give it to your employer, not to the IRS. Every employee completes Step 1 and signs in Step 5. Complete Steps 2 to 4 only if they apply to you: more than one job or a working spouse, dependents, other income, deductions, or extra withholding.

Fill out Form W-4Blank form from the IRS

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Edition
Tax year 2026
Pages
5
Fillable fields
48
Checked against the IRS
November 8, 2026

GuruPDF is not affiliated with the Internal Revenue Service. This page explains the form in plain words; it is not legal or tax advice. Always check the official instructions before you file. This is the tax year 2026 version; the IRS keeps forms for earlier years.

Who uses Form W-4

  • New employees starting a job
  • Current employees who want to change their federal income tax withholding
  • People with more than one job at a time, or married couples filing jointly where both spouses work
  • Employees who want withholding to account for dependents, other income or deductions
  • Employees who meet both conditions to claim exemption from withholding for the year

Before you start

  • Your name, address and social security number
  • The filing status you expect to use on your 2026 tax return
  • If Step 2 applies, the approximate annual pay for each job in your household (yours, and your spouse's if you file jointly)
  • Your most recent pay stubs, if you use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator
  • The number of qualifying children under age 17 and other dependents, and estimates of other income without withholding and of deductions you expect to claim
  • Your 2025 tax return, if you are checking whether you can claim exemption from withholding

How to fill out Form W-4

  1. Step 1: Enter personal information

    In 1(a), enter your first name and middle initial, last name, address, and city or town, state and ZIP code. In 1(b), enter your social security number. If your name does not match the name on your social security card, the form tells you to contact the Social Security Administration so your earnings are credited to you. In 1(c), check one filing status: Single or Married filing separately, Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse, or Head of household. Head of household is only for someone who is unmarried and pays more than half the costs of keeping up a home for themselves and a qualifying individual.

  2. Step 2: Multiple jobs or spouse works

    Complete this step only if you hold more than one job at a time, or you are married filing jointly and your spouse also works. Do only one of the three options. (a) Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator; the form says to use this option if you or your spouse have self-employment income. (b) Complete the Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3 and enter the result in Step 4(c). (c) Check the box if there are only two jobs in total, and check the same box on the Form W-4 for the other job. A separate Form W-4 is submitted for each job.

  3. Step 2(b): Multiple Jobs Worksheet (page 3)

    Fill in this worksheet on only one Form W-4; the form says withholding is most accurate if you use it for the highest paying job. For two jobs, line 1 is the amount where the "Higher Paying Job" row meets the "Lower Paying Job" column in the page 5 table for your filing status. For three jobs, use lines 2a, 2b and 2c instead. On line 3, enter the number of pay periods per year for the highest paying job, such as 52 for weekly pay or 26 for pay every other week. Line 4 divides the annual amount by line 3; enter it in Step 4(c) of the Form W-4 for the highest paying job. The note at the top of the worksheet says when to use Pub. 505 or the estimator instead.

  4. Step 3: Claim dependent and other credits

    This step applies only if your total income will be at or below the limit printed in Step 3. On line 3(a), multiply the number of qualifying children under age 17 by the amount printed there. On line 3(b), multiply the number of other dependents by the amount printed there. Add 3(a) and 3(b), plus an estimate of other credits for the year such as the foreign tax credit or education credits, and enter the total on line 3. Page 2 explains who counts as a qualifying child, including the social security number requirement; Pub. 501 has more eligibility requirements.

  5. Step 4: Other adjustments

    On 4(a), enter other income you expect this year that won't have withholding, such as interest, dividends and retirement income; do not include income from jobs or self-employment. On 4(b), enter line 15 of the Deductions Worksheet on page 4 if you expect to claim deductions other than the basic standard deduction. That worksheet covers qualified tips, overtime, passenger vehicle loan interest, the deduction for seniors, adjustments such as student loan interest and IRA contributions, and itemized deductions. If you leave 4(b) blank, withholding uses the standard deduction. On 4(c), enter any extra tax you want withheld each pay period, including line 4 of the Multiple Jobs Worksheet. With more than one job, complete Steps 3 through 4(b) on only one Form W-4.

  6. Exempt from withholding

    Check this box only if you meet both conditions: you had no federal income tax liability in 2025 and you expect to have none in 2026. Page 2 explains what no liability in 2025 means, based on line 24 of your 2025 Form 1040 or 1040-SR, or on not having to file because your income was below the filing threshold. If you check the box, complete only Steps 1(a), 1(b) and 5, and leave the other steps blank.

  7. Step 5: Sign, and leave Employers Only blank

    Sign and date the form. By signing, you declare under penalties of perjury that the certificate is true, correct and complete to the best of your knowledge. The Employers Only section at the bottom of page 1 (employer's name and address, first date of employment, and employer identification number) is for your employer to fill in.

After you fill it out

Give the signed form to your employer, not to the IRS. Some employers collect Forms W-4 through their own electronic system, so follow your employer's instructions. Keep the worksheets on pages 3 and 4 for your records. The IRS suggests considering a new Form W-4 each year and when your personal or financial situation changes.

Signing: The form says it is not valid unless you sign it in Step 5. Pub. 15 lets employers set up a system to receive Forms W-4 electronically, so follow your employer's instructions; if you hand in a paper form, print it and sign it.

Watch out for

  • Form W-4 goes to your employer, not the IRS. Your employer keeps it and sends copies to the IRS only if the IRS directs it to.
  • If you claim exemption, no federal income tax is withheld from your pay and you may owe tax and penalties when you file. Your wages are still subject to social security and Medicare taxes. The exemption covers 2026 only; the form says you will need to submit a new Form W-4 by February 16, 2027.
  • If you are a nonresident alien, read Notice 1392 before completing the form. Among other rules, nonresident aliens may not claim exemption from withholding and must request withholding as if single, whatever their actual filing status.
  • Any unauthorized change or addition to the form, including removing the language you certify with, makes it invalid, and your employer will not use it to figure withholding.

Questions about Form W-4

Do I send Form W-4 to the IRS?

No. You give it to your employer, who uses it to figure your federal income tax withholding. The IRS can ask an employer for copies of Forms W-4 it has on file.

Do I have to fill in every step?

No. Step 1 and Step 5 are required for everyone; complete Steps 2 to 4 only if they apply to you. If you fill in only Step 1 and sign, withholding is based on your filing status's standard deduction and tax rates with no other adjustments.

Do I need a new Form W-4 every year?

Not usually. A Form W-4 from an earlier year stays in effect until you give your employer a new one, although the IRS suggests considering a new one each year and when your situation changes. A claim of exemption from withholding lasts only one calendar year. When you give a replacement form, your employer must start using it no later than the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after receiving it.

What if I don't want my employer to see my other job or other income?

For Step 2, you can use the Multiple Jobs Worksheet in Step 2(b) or the Tax Withholding Estimator instead of checking the box in Step 2(c), and enter the result in Step 4(c). For non-job income, you can enter an extra amount per pay period in Step 4(c) instead of reporting the income in Step 4(a), or pay estimated tax with Form 1040-ES.

What happened to withholding allowances?

The redesigned form, used since 2020, no longer uses allowances. The value of an allowance was tied to the personal exemption, and because of changes in law, personal exemptions cannot currently be claimed.

Official information

Page text last reviewed November 7, 2026.

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