IRS · Official form

Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate

Your W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to take out of each paycheck. Fill in the official IRS PDF below, download it, and hand it to your payroll department.

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This is the genuine IRS PDF, unmodified. Source: IRS official page.

What is W-4?

Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, decides your paycheck withholding. Your employer feeds your entries, filing status, other income, deductions, and dependent credits, into the IRS withholding tables. Withhold too little and you owe at tax time, possibly with a penalty; withhold too much and you gave the government an interest-free loan.

Since 2020 the form uses dollar amounts instead of allowances. You complete Step 1 and Step 5 always; Steps 2 through 4 only when they apply.

Who files W-4?

Every new employee, usually on day one
Anyone whose situation changed: marriage, divorce, a child, a second job
Workers who got a big refund or a big bill last year and want their withholding fixed
Employees claiming exemption from withholding, who must refile each year

How to fill out W-4

Fill in Step 1 with your name, address, SSN, and filing status.
If you hold multiple jobs or your spouse works, follow Step 2 using the estimator at irs.gov/W4App or the worksheet.
Claim dependent credits in Step 3: $2,000 per qualifying child under 17, $500 for other dependents.
Use Step 4 for other income, extra deductions, or an additional amount to withhold per paycheck.
Download the PDF, sign Step 5, and give it to your employer, not the IRS.

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These are the form's own fields, in the order they appear on the pages. Fill in what you know; anything left blank stays a fillable field in the PDF, so you can finish it in any PDF reader. Nothing you type here is sent to IRS.

Page 1 19 fields

(a) First name and middle initial

Last name

Address

City or town, state, and ZIP code

(b) Social security number

Single or Married filing separately

Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse

Head of household (Check only if you’re unmarried and pay more than half the costs of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying

This option is generally more accurate than Step 2(b) if pay at the lower paying job is more than half of the pay at the higher paying job.

Multiply the number of qualifying children under age 17 by $2,200

3(b). Multiply the number of other dependents by $500

3. Add the amounts from Steps 3(a) and 3(b), plus the amount for other credits. Enter the total here

(a). Other income (not from jobs). If you want tax withheld for other income you expect this year that won't have withholding, enter the

4(b). Deductions. Use the Deductions Worksheet on page 4 to determine the amount of deductions you may claim, which will reduce your

4(c). Extra withholding. Enter any additional tax you want withheld each pay period

I understand I will need to submit a new Form W-4 for 2027.

Employer’s name and address

First date of employment

Employer identification number (EIN)

Page 3 6 fields

1. Two jobs. If you have two jobs or you’re married filing jointly and you and your spouse each have one job, find the amount from the

2. Three jobs. If you and/or your spouse have three jobs at the same time, complete lines 2a, 2b, and 2c below. Otherwise, skip to line 3.

2b. Add the annual wages of the two highest paying jobs from line 2a together and use the total as the wages in the “Higher Paying Job” row

2c. Add the amounts from lines 2a and 2b and enter the result on line 2c

3. Enter the number of pay periods per year for the highest paying job. For example, if that job pays weekly, enter 52; if it pays every

4. Divide the annual amount on line 1 or line 2c by the number of pay periods on line 3. Enter this amount here and in Step 4(c) of Form

Page 4 23 fields

1. Deductions for qualified tips, overtime compensation, and passenger vehicle loan interest. a. Qualified tips. If your total income is

1b. Qualified overtime compensation. If your total income is less than $150,000 ($300,000 if married filing jointly), enter an estimate of

1c. Qualified passenger vehicle loan interest. If your total income is less than $100,000 ($200,000 if married filing jointly), enter an

2. Add lines 1a, 1b, and 1c. Enter the result here

3. Seniors age 65 or older. If your total income is less than $75,000 ($150,000 if married filing jointly): a. Enter $6,000 if you are age

3b. Enter $6,000 if your spouse is age 65 or older before the end of the year and has a social security number valid for employment

4. Add lines 3a and 3b. Enter the result here

5. Enter an estimate of your student loan interest, deductible I R A contributions, educator expenses, alimony paid, and certain other

6. Itemized deductions. Enter an estimate of your 2026 itemized deductions from Schedule A (Form 1040). Such deductions may include

6b. State and local taxes. If your total income is less than $505,000 ($252,500 if married filing separately), enter state and local taxes

6c. Home mortgage interest. If your home acquisition debt is less than $750,000 ($375,000 if married filing separately), enter your home

6d. Gifts to charities. Enter contributions in excess of 0.5% (0.005) of your total income

6e. Other itemized deductions. Enter the amount for other itemized deductions

7. Add lines 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, and 6e. Enter the result here

8. Limitation on itemized deductions. a. Enter your total income

8b. Subtract line 4 from line 8a. If line 4 is greater than line 8a, enter 0 here and on line 10. Skip line 9

9. Enter: $768,700 if you’re married filing jointly or a qualifying surviving spouse. $640,600 if you’re single or head of household.

10. If line 9 is greater than line 8b, enter the amount from line 7. Otherwise, multiply line 7 by 94% (0.94) and enter the result here

11. Standard deduction. Enter: $32,200 if you’re married filing jointly or a qualifying surviving spouse. $24,150 if you’re head of

12. Cash gifts to charities. If you take the standard deduction, enter cash contributions up to $1,000 ($2,000 if married filing jointly)

13. Add lines 11 and 12. Enter the result here

14. If line 10 is greater than line 13, subtract line 11 from line 10 and enter the result here. If line 13 is greater than line 10, enter

15. Add lines 2, 4, 5, and 14. Enter the result here and in Step 4(b) of Form W-4

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Frequently asked questions

How do I get less tax withheld?

Claim the credits and deductions you are actually entitled to in Steps 3 and 4b. Do not invent dependents; the numbers flow into your real tax return.

How do I get a bigger refund?

Add an extra withholding amount on line 4c. That much more is taken from every paycheck and comes back at filing time.

Do I have to file a new W-4 every year?

No, it stays in force until you replace it. The one exception is claiming exempt status, which expires each February 15.

Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate

What is W-4?

Who files W-4?

How to fill out W-4

Quick fill W-4 on this page

Frequently asked questions

Related forms

Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number

Form W-4P, Withholding Certificate for Pension or Annuity Payments

Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement

Form 1040, US Individual Income Tax Return