To fill out a W-4, enter your name, address, Social Security number and filing status in Step 1, then sign Step 5. Steps 2, 3 and 4 are only for people with more than one job, a working spouse, dependents, other income or deductions. Everyone else can leave them blank.
The form goes to your employer, not the IRS. Payroll uses it to decide how much federal income tax comes out of each paycheck, so a wrong entry shows up as a smaller refund, or a bill, next spring.
The five steps at a glance
The 2026 form keeps the five steps introduced in 2020, when allowances were dropped. There is no longer a box for “0” or “1”: you enter dollar amounts instead.
| Step | What it asks | Who fills it in | What it does to withholding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1: Personal information | Name, address, Social Security number and filing status | Everyone | The filing status picks the standard deduction and tax rates used for your withholding |
| Step 2: Multiple jobs or spouse works | Whether you hold more than one job, or are married filing jointly and both work | Only if it applies | Raises withholding so the jobs together cover the tax; the online estimator, the worksheet (up to 3 jobs) or the 2(c) box |
| Step 3: Claim dependents | $2,200 for each child under 17 and $500 for each other dependent | Income of $200,000 or less ($400,000 married filing jointly) | Lowers withholding by the yearly total, spread across your paychecks |
| Step 4(a): Other income | Interest, dividends or retirement income with no tax taken out | Optional | Raises withholding to cover tax on that income |
| Step 4(b): Deductions | Itemized deductions and the new deductions for tips, overtime, car loan interest and seniors | Optional | Lowers withholding; leave it blank and only the standard deduction is used |
| Step 4(c): Extra withholding | A dollar amount to take out of every paycheck | Optional | Adds that amount to each paycheck's withholding |
| Step 5: Sign | Your signature and the date | Everyone | The form is not valid unsigned |
What is new on the 2026 W-4
- A bigger child amount. Step 3 now uses $2,200 for each child under 17, up from the figure many older guides still show.
- New lines for new deductions. The Step 4(b) worksheet has lines for qualified tips (up to $25,000), the “and-a-half” part of overtime pay, car loan interest (up to $10,000) and $6,000 for anyone 65 or older.
- A separate exempt box. Claiming exemption is now a checkbox of its own instead of a word written in Step 4(c).
Step 1: your details and filing status
Use the name exactly as it appears on your Social Security card, so your earnings are credited to you. Then pick the filing status you expect to use on your tax return. It sets the standard deduction and tax rates payroll applies to your pay.
Head of household is only for someone unmarried who pays more than half the cost of keeping up a home for themselves and a qualifying person. If that is not you, choose single, even if you share a home with a partner.
Step 2: more than one job, or a working spouse
Fill in Step 2 if you hold two jobs at once, or you are married filing jointly and both of you work. Each job only sees its own pay, so without this step each one withholds as if it were your only income. Together they fall short.
You have three ways to fix that. The IRS online estimator is the most accurate. The Multiple Jobs Worksheet in the instructions works for up to three jobs paying $120,000 or less each. The quickest is the Step 2(c) box, which suits two jobs with roughly the same pay.
| How both W-4s are filled in | Withheld in the year, both jobs | Against the tax owed |
|---|---|---|
| Married filing jointly, Step 2 left blank | $4,660 | $4,180 short |
| Married filing jointly, Step 2(c) box checked on both | $8,840 | Matches |
For this couple, leaving Step 2 blank would leave several thousand dollars unpaid at tax time. Checking the box on both W-4s halves the standard deduction and brackets for each job, which lands right on their tax because the two salaries are close.
When the pay is far apart, the box withholds too much from the smaller job. Use the estimator or the worksheet instead, and enter the result on the W-4 for the higher-paying job only.
Step 3: children and other dependents
Multiply the number of children under 17 by $2,200 and other dependents by $500, then add the two. This step only applies if your total income will be $200,000 or less, or $400,000 or less married filing jointly.
The child must be your dependent, live with you for more than half the year and have a Social Security number. An older child or another qualifying relative can count as an other dependent. With two jobs, claim dependents on one W-4 only.
Step 4: other income, deductions and extra withholding
Each part of Step 4 is optional.
- 4(a) Other income. Interest, dividends or retirement income that has no tax taken out. Adding it here spreads the tax over your paychecks.
- 4(b) Deductions. The result of the Deductions Worksheet: itemized deductions above the standard deduction, plus the new deductions for tips, overtime, car loan interest and seniors. Leave it blank and payroll assumes the standard deduction only.
- 4(c) Extra withholding. A flat dollar amount taken from every paycheck on top of the rest. It is the simplest way to cover side income.
The overtime line takes only the premium, not the whole overtime check. An hour paid at time and a half counts half an hour’s pay toward the deduction. How to calculate overtime shows where that premium comes from.
What each step does to one paycheck
Here is one employee filling in the form step by step. Everything else stays the same: the same hourly rate, the same overtime, the same pay schedule. Only the W-4 changes.
| Form W-4 | Entry | Withheld a paycheck | Change | Withheld a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step 1 only | Head of household, nothing else | $204.72 | $5,323 | |
| Add Step 3 | 2 children x $2,200 = $4,400 | $35.48 | −$169.24 | $923 |
| Add Step 4(b) | Overtime deduction estimate $2,325 | $24.75 | −$10.73 | $644 |
| Add Step 4(c) | $20 extra a paycheck | $44.75 | +$20.00 | $1,164 |
Step 3 makes the biggest difference, because a credit comes straight off the tax. The overtime deduction trims less, since it lowers taxable income rather than the tax itself. The $20 in Step 4(c) shows up exactly as entered.
The withholding on your pay stub is the federal income tax line. FIT on a pay stub explains how payroll gets from your W-4 to that number.
Claiming exempt from withholding in 2026
You can claim exempt only if you had no federal income tax liability in 2025 and expect none in 2026. Check the exempt box, fill in your name and Social Security number, and sign. Skip every other step.
Exemption lasts one year. To keep it, hand in a new W-4 by February 16, 2027. Claiming exempt when you will owe tax leaves nothing withheld, and the full amount, plus a possible penalty, falls due when you file.
When to hand in a new W-4
- You start a new job. If you hand in nothing, the employer must withhold as if you were single with no other entries.
- You marry, divorce, or have or adopt a child.
- You or your spouse take a second job, or one of you stops working.
- Your refund was much bigger, or your tax bill much larger, than you wanted.
A change made late in the year has fewer paychecks to work with. For a mid-year change, the IRS points to its online estimator, which works best with your most recent pay stub to hand. You can see the effect on take-home pay with our pay stub generator.
Sources: IRS 2026 Form W-4 and About Form W-4; Publication 15-T (2026); Publication 15 (2026). Checked October 22, 2026.
