Guide ยท tax year 2026
Form W-4 explained
Form W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck. It does not change the tax you owe for the year, only how much is paid as you go. Getting it right means a smaller bill or refund in April.
Figures checked against official sources on October 11, 2026.
What the W-4 does
Your employer works out federal withholding from your pay and the answers on your most recent W-4, using the tables in IRS Publication 15-T. If you never filed one, they must treat you as single with no adjustments. The form has had five steps since 2020; the old "allowances" are gone. Only Steps 1 and 5 are required. The others are optional and only change anything if they apply to you.
Step 1: personal information and filing status
Choose single (or married filing separately), married filing jointly, or head of household. Filing status sets the standard deduction and bracket widths used for withholding: in 2026 the standard deduction is $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly and $24,150 head of household. Choose head of household only if you are unmarried and pay more than half the cost of a home for a qualifying person.
Step 2: multiple jobs or a working spouse
This is the step people skip most, and the one that most often causes a tax bill. Each employer withholds as if its job were your only income, so each one applies the full standard deduction and starts you in the lowest bracket. With two incomes, the second one is really taxed at a higher rate.
The simplest fix is the checkbox in Step 2(c). Tick it on the W-4 for both jobs (or for both spouses' jobs), and each employer uses half the standard deduction and brackets half as wide. For a single person earning $60,000 paid every two weeks, ticking the box raises federal withholding from about $193.08 to $337.88 a paycheck. It works best when the two jobs pay about the same. If they are very different, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator or the worksheet in the W-4 instructions, and put the result in Step 4(c) on the higher-paying job only.
Step 3: dependents
Multiply the number of children under 17 by $2,200 and other dependents by $500, then enter the total. Withholding is reduced by that amount spread across the year. For a married couple filing jointly on $60,000 with two children, claiming them lowers federal withholding from about $109.23 to $0.00 a paycheck. The credit begins to shrink at $200,000 of income ($400,000 joint), so higher earners should claim less. If both spouses work, claim the children on one W-4 only.
Step 4: other adjustments
- 4(a) Other income: interest, dividends, retirement income or side income with no withholding. Entering it adds withholding so you do not owe at filing.
- 4(b) Deductions: deductions beyond the standard deduction, such as itemized deductions or the new federal deductions for qualified tips and overtime, which can lower withholding during the year.
- 4(c) Extra withholding: a flat dollar amount taken from every paycheck. This is the simplest way to fix a recurring balance due: divide what you owed last year by your number of paychecks.
Claiming exempt
You can claim exemption from federal withholding only if you owed no federal income tax last year and expect to owe none this year. An exempt W-4 expires each year; you must file a new one early in the next year or your employer goes back to withholding as single. Social Security and Medicare are still withheld either way.
State withholding forms
The federal W-4 does not control state withholding in most states. Many have their own form, such as California's DE 4, New York's IT-2104, Maryland's MW507 (which also asks your county) and Ohio's IT 4 (which asks your school district). A few states, such as Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota, use your federal W-4 answers. Each state page names the form.
When to file a new W-4
- You marry, divorce or have a child.
- You or your spouse start or leave a second job.
- You got a large refund or owed a lot last April.
- You start getting regular tips, overtime or side income.
You can file a new W-4 at any time; the change normally shows up within a pay period or two. To test changes before you make them, use the W-4 calculator, which shows the per-paycheck effect of each step.
Questions
Do I need to fill out a new W-4 every year?
No. Your last W-4 stays in effect until you change it. The exception is a W-4 claiming exemption from withholding, which must be renewed each year.
Should I check the box in Step 2?
Check it if you have two jobs at the same time, or if you are married filing jointly and your spouse also works, and the two incomes are roughly similar. Check it on both W-4s. For very different incomes, the IRS estimator gives a more accurate figure.
Does the W-4 change how much tax I owe?
No. It changes only how much is withheld during the year. Your actual tax is worked out on your return; too much withheld comes back as a refund, too little is a balance due.