W4 - Employee’s Withholding Certificate

Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service

Complete Form W-4 so that your employer can withhold the correct federal income tax from your pay. Give Form W-4 to your employer. Your withholding is subject to review by the IRS.

If you would like to have a copy to view as you fill out the form click on the below link.

Link to W4

Does your name match the name on your social security card? If not, to ensure you get credit for your earnings, contact SSA at 800-772-1213 or go to www.ssa.gov.

TIP: Consider using the estimator at www.irs.gov/W4App to determine the most accurate withholding for the rest of the year if: you are completing this form after the beginning of the year; expect to work only part of the year; or have changes during the year in your marital status, number of jobs for you (and/or your spouse if married filing jointly), dependents, other income (not from jobs), deductions, or credits. Have your most recent pay stub(s) from this year available when using the estimator. At the beginning of next year, use the estimator again to recheck your withholding. Complete Steps 2–4 ONLY if they apply to you; otherwise, skip to Step 5. See page 2 for more information on each step, who can claim exemption from withholding, and when to use the estimator at www.irs.gov/W4App.

Complete Steps 3–4(b) on Form W-4 for only ONE of these jobs. Leave those steps blank for the other jobs. (Your withholding will be most accurate if you complete Steps 3–4(b) on the Form W-4 for the highest paying job

If your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less if married filing jointly):

For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 3.

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.
Future Developments
For the latest information about developments related to Form
W-4, such as legislation enacted after it was published, go to
www.irs.gov/FormW4.
Purpose of Form
Complete Form W-4 so that your employer can withhold the
correct federal income tax from your pay. If too little is withheld,
you will generally owe tax when you file your tax return and may
owe a penalty. If too much is withheld, you will generally be due
a refund. Complete a new Form W-4 when changes to your
personal or financial situation would change the entries on the
form. For more information on withholding and when you must
furnish a new Form W-4, see Pub. 505, Tax Withholding and
Estimated Tax.
Exemption from withholding. You may claim exemption from
withholding for 2025 if you meet both of the following
conditions: you had no federal income tax liability in 2024 and
you expect to have no federal income tax liability in 2025. You
had no federal income tax liability in 2024 if (1) your total tax on
line 24 on your 2024 Form 1040 or 1040-SR is zero (or less than
the sum of lines 27, 28, and 29), or (2) you were not required to
file a return because your income was below the filing threshold
for your correct filing status. If you claim exemption, you will
have no income tax withheld from your paycheck and may owe
taxes and penalties when you file your 2025 tax return. To claim
exemption from withholding, certify that you meet both of the
conditions above by writing “Exempt” on Form W-4 in the space
below Step 4(c). Then, complete Steps 1(a), 1(b), and 5. Do not
complete any other steps. You will need to submit a new Form
W-4 by February 17, 2026.
Your privacy. Steps 2(c) and 4(a) ask for information regarding
income you received from sources other than the job associated
with this Form W-4. If you have concerns with providing the
information asked for in Step 2(c), you may choose Step 2(b) as
an alternative; if you have concerns with providing the
information asked for in Step 4(a), you may enter an additional
amount you want withheld per pay period in Step 4(c) as an
alternative.
When to use the estimator. Consider using the estimator at
www.irs.gov/W4App if you:
1. Are submitting this form after the beginning of the year;
2. Expect to work only part of the year;
3. Have changes during the year in your marital status, number
of jobs for you (and/or your spouse if married filing jointly), or
number of dependents, or changes in your deductions or
credits;
4. Receive dividends, capital gains, social security, bonuses, or
business income, or are subject to the Additional Medicare Tax
or Net Investment Income Tax; or
5. Prefer the most accurate withholding for multiple job
situations.
TIP: Have your most recent pay stub(s) from this year available
when using the estimator to account for federal income tax that
has already been withheld this year. At the beginning of next
year, use the estimator again to recheck your withholding.
Self-employment. Generally, you will owe both income and
self-employment taxes on any self-employment income you
receive separate from the wages you receive as an employee. If
you want to pay these taxes through withholding from your
wages, use the estimator at www.irs.gov/W4App to figure the
amount to have withheld.
Nonresident alien. If you’re a nonresident alien, see Notice
1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident
Aliens, before completing this form.

Step 1(c). Check your anticipated filing status. This will
determine the standard deduction and tax rates used to
compute your withholding.
Step 2. Use this step if you (1) have more than one job at the
same time, or (2) are married filing jointly and you and your
spouse both work. Submit a separate Form W-4 for each job.
Option (a) most accurately calculates the additional tax you
need to have withheld, while option (b) does so with a little less
accuracy.
Instead, if you (and your spouse) have a total of only two jobs,
you may check the box in option (c). The box must also be
checked on the Form W-4 for the other job. If the box is
checked, the standard deduction and tax brackets will be cut in
half for each job to calculate withholding. This option is accurate
for jobs with similar pay; otherwise, more tax than necessary
may be withheld, and this extra amount will be larger the greater
the difference in pay is between the two jobs.
▲! CAUTION
Multiple jobs. Complete Steps 3 through 4(b) on only
one Form W-4. Withholding will be most accurate if you
do this on the Form W-4 for the highest paying job.
Step 3. This step provides instructions for determining the
amount of the child tax credit and the credit for other
dependents that you may be able to claim when you file your
tax return. To qualify for the child tax credit, the child must be
under age 17 as of December 31, must be your dependent who
generally lives with you for more than half the year, and must
have the required social security number. You may be able to
claim a credit for other dependents for whom a child tax credit
can’t be claimed, such as an older child or a qualifying relative.
For additional eligibility requirements for these credits, see Pub.
501, Dependents, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information.
You can also include other tax credits for which you are eligible
in this step, such as the foreign tax credit and the education tax
credits. To do so, add an estimate of the amount for the year to
your credits for dependents and enter the total amount in Step
3. Including these credits will increase your paycheck and
reduce the amount of any refund you may receive when you file
your tax return.
Step 4 (optional).
Step 4(a). Enter in this step the total of your other estimated
income for the year, if any. You shouldn’t include income from
any jobs or self-employment. If you complete Step 4(a), you
likely won’t have to make estimated tax payments for that
income. If you prefer to pay estimated tax rather than having tax
on other income withheld from your paycheck, see Form
1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals.
Step 4(b). Enter in this step the amount from the Deductions
Worksheet, line 5, if you expect to claim deductions other than
the basic standard deduction on your 2025 tax return and want
to reduce your withholding to account for these deductions.
This includes both itemized deductions and other deductions
such as for student loan interest and IRAs.
Step 4(c). Enter in this step any additional tax you want
withheld from your pay each pay period, including any amounts
from the Multiple Jobs Worksheet, line 4. Entering an amount
here will reduce your paycheck and will either increase your
refund or reduce any amount of tax that you owe.

Step 2(b)—Multiple Jobs Worksheet (Keep for your records)

If you choose the option in Step 2(b) on Form W-4, complete this worksheet (which calculates the total extra tax for all jobs) on only ONE Form W-4. Withholding will be most accurate if you complete the worksheet and enter the result on the Form W-4 for the highest paying job. To be accurate, submit a new Form W-4 for all other jobs if you have not updated your withholding since 2019.
Note: If more than one job has annual wages of more than $120,000 or there are more than three jobs, see Pub. 505 for additional tables; or, you can use the online withholding estimator at www.irs.gov/W4App.

Step 4(b)—Deductions Worksheet (Keep for your records)

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United States. Internal Revenue Code sections 3402(f2) and 6109 and their regulations require you to provide this information; your employer uses it to determine your federal income tax withholding. Failure to provide a properly completed form will result in your being treated as a single person with no other entries on the form; providing fraudulent information may subject you to penalties. Routine uses of this information include giving it to the Department of Justice for civil and criminal litigation; to cities, states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and territories for use in administering their tax laws; and to the Department of Health and Human Services for use in the National Directory of New Hires. We may also disclose this information to other countries under a tax treaty, to federal and state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat terrorism.

You are not required to provide the information requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential, as required by Code section 6103. The average time and expenses required to complete and file this form will vary depending on individual circumstances. For estimated averages, see the instructions for your income tax return. If you have suggestions for making this form simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for your income tax return.

If you would like to see the Higher Paying Job Annual Taxable Wage & Salary table click the link below and scroll down to Page 4.

Link to W4