Form W-4 (2026)

Form W-4 is an Employee's Withholding Certificate. It is used by employees to tell their employer how much tax to withhold from their paycheck.

You need to fill out Form W-4 so that your employer can withhold the correct federal income tax from your pay.

If you don't fill out Form W-4, your employer will withhold taxes based on the information you provided on your most recent Form W-4.

You should update your Form W-4 when your personal or financial situation changes. Such changes may include getting married, having a child, or buying a home.

No. The form is divided into 5 steps. The only two steps required for all employees are Step 1, where you enter personal information like your name and filing status, and Step 5, where you sign the form. Complete Steps 2 - 4 only if they apply to you. Doing so will make your withholding more accurately match your liability.

You should generally increase your withholding if:
you hold more than one job at a time or you and your spouse both have jobs (Step 2) or you have income from sources other than jobs or self-employment that is not subject to withholding (Step 4(a)).
If you do not make adjustments to your withholding for these situations, you will very likely owe additional tax when filing your tax return, and you may owe penalties. For income from sources other than jobs, you can pay estimated tax instead of having extra withholding.

You should generally decrease your withholding if:
you are eligible for income tax credits such as the child tax credit or credit for other dependents (Step 3) or you are eligible for deductions other than the standard deduction, such as itemized deductions, the deduction for IRA contributions, or the deduction for student loan interest (Step 4(b)).