How to fill out Form W-4 (2026)

Form W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to take out of each paycheck. It doesn't change the tax you owe for the year — only how much is paid along the way. Here is each step in plain words, and what it does to a real paycheck.

The example throughout is a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks. With a single filing status and nothing else on the form, $193.08 of federal income tax is withheld from each paycheck.

What each W-4 choice does

Federal income tax withheld per paycheck on a $60,000 salary paid every two weeks. Worked out with the IRS percentage method in Publication 15-T (2026), the same way our calculators do. Social Security, Medicare and state tax don't depend on the W-4.

Step 1: Your personal information

Name, address, Social Security number and filing status: single or married filing separately, married filing jointly, or head of household. The status sets how much of your pay is treated as tax-free. For withholding in 2026, the tables start from a yearly allowance of $8,600 for single and head of household, and $12,900 for married filing jointly (the tables also build in the $16,100 / $32,200 / $24,150 standard deductions). Only choose head of household if you're unmarried and pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying person.

Step 2: Multiple jobs or spouse works

Fill this in only if you have more than one job at the same time, or you're married filing jointly and your spouse also works. Each employer withholds as if its paycheck were your only income, so without Step 2 too little is usually taken out. The form gives three options — use only one:

• (a) the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator (most accurate);
• (b) the Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3, with the result in Step 4(c) on one W-4;
• (c) checking the box, if there are only two jobs in total — and checking it on the other job's W-4 too. The IRS says this is generally more accurate than the worksheet when the lower-paying job pays more than half as much as the higher-paying one.

In the example, checking the box raises withholding from $193.08 to $337.88 a paycheck.

Step 3: Dependents and other credits

If your income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less if married filing jointly), enter $2,200 for each qualifying child under 17 and $500 for each other dependent, plus any other credits you expect. The total comes straight off the year's withholding: two children ($4,400) take the example from $193.08 to $23.85 a paycheck. If you have more than one job, fill in Steps 3 to 4(b) on only one W-4 — the IRS says withholding is most accurate on the highest-paying job's form.

Step 4: Other adjustments (optional)

• 4(a) Other income not from jobs — interest, dividends, retirement income. Adding it here has tax withheld on it through your paycheck, so you don't have to make estimated payments. $5,000 of other income raises the example to $216.15.
• 4(b) Deductions beyond the standard deduction, from the Deductions Worksheet on page 4. Entering them lowers withholding: $5,000 brings the example to $170.00.
• 4(c) Extra withholding — any extra dollar amount you want taken from each paycheck, for example to avoid owing at tax time.

New for 2026: deductions you can put in Step 4(b)

The 2026 Deductions Worksheet includes the new federal deductions for 2025–2028. If you expect to claim them on your return, including them in Step 4(b) means less is withheld during the year instead of getting it back as a refund:

• Tips: up to $25,000 of qualified tips, reduced above $150,000 of income ($300,000 joint).
• Overtime: up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint) of the extra "half" of time-and-a-half pay, same income limits. The overtime calculator estimates your yearly amount.
• Car loan interest: up to $10,000 a year on a loan for a new vehicle assembled in the United States, reduced above $100,000 of income ($200,000 joint).
• Age 65 or older: an extra $6,000 per person, reduced above $75,000 of income ($150,000 joint).

Social Security and Medicare still come out of tips and overtime; these deductions only affect income tax.

Step 5: Sign

The form isn't valid until you sign and date it. Give it to your employer, not the IRS. Check your next pay stub to see the change.

Claiming exempt

You can claim exemption (the form gives a checkbox) only if you had no federal income tax liability last year and expect none this year — both conditions. Nothing will be withheld. An exemption for 2026 ends with the year: to keep it, you must give your employer a new W-4 by February 16, 2027.

If you don't hand in a W-4

Your employer must treat you as single with no other entries — in the example, $193.08 a paycheck. If you're married or have children, that usually means more is withheld than you need. A W-4 you gave before 2020 is still valid; you only need the new form if you want to change something.

When to fill out a new W-4

Any time: a new job, marriage or divorce, a baby, a second job, a big raise, or a large refund or bill at tax time. Use your state's paycheck calculator to try W-4 choices on your own pay — the "Tips, 401(k), health insurance and W-4 details" section has every step — and remember many states have their own withholding form too; your state's page explains it.

Sources

• IRS Form W-4 (2026), Employee's Withholding Certificate — Steps 1–5, Step 3 amounts and income limits, the 2026 Deductions Worksheet, exemption renewal date, and what happens without a form
• IRS — FAQs on the 2020 Form W-4 — W-4s from before 2020 stay valid; new employees without a W-4 are treated as single with no adjustments
• IRS — One Big Beautiful Bill provisions for individuals and workers — tips, overtime, car loan interest and senior deductions, 2025–2028
• IRS Tax Withholding Estimator
• IRS Publication 15-T (2026), Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods — Worksheet 1A and the annual percentage-method tables