How to Fill Out a W-4 (2026): Step-by-Step Guide

By Archie Chang · 9 min read · Updated 2026-09-30

Form W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to take out of each paycheck. Fill it in too lightly and you owe at tax time, sometimes with a penalty; fill it in too heavily and you lend the IRS money until your refund arrives. The 2026 form keeps the five-step layout but adds new deduction lines for tips, overtime, car loan interest and seniors. Here is what each step asks for and what to enter.

Want the numbers worked out for you? The W-4 calculator gives the exact entries for your situation.

Step 1: Personal information and filing status

Enter your name, address and Social Security number, then check one filing status in Step 1(c): single or married filing separately, married filing jointly, or head of household. The status you check sets the standard deduction and tax rates used for your withholding. Check head of household only if you are unmarried and pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying individual.

If you have one job, no dependents and no other income or special deductions, you can stop here: skip to Step 5 and sign.

Step 2: Multiple jobs or a spouse who works

Use Step 2 if you hold more than one job at the same time, or if you are married filing jointly and your spouse also works. Each job gets its own W-4, and you pick one of three options:

1. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. The most accurate option, and the one to use if you or your spouse have self-employment income.
2. Use the Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3 of the form and put the result in Step 4(c). Slightly less accurate than the estimator.
3. Check the box if there are only two jobs in total, and check it on the other job's W-4 too. The standard deduction and brackets are cut in half for each job, which is accurate when the jobs pay about the same. When the pay is very different, it over-withholds, and the gap grows with the difference.

Whatever you choose, complete Steps 3 through 4(b) on only one W-4, preferably the one for the highest-paying job. Leave them blank on the others.

Step 3: Dependents and other credits

If your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 if married filing jointly), multiply the number of qualifying children under 17 by $2,200 and the number of other dependents by $500, and enter the total. A qualifying child must be under 17 on December 31, generally live with you for more than half the year, and have the required Social Security number. Other dependents include older children and qualifying relatives.

You can add other credits you expect, such as education credits or the foreign tax credit. Every dollar in Step 3 lowers your withholding for the year by a dollar, so your paychecks get bigger and your refund smaller.

Step 4(a): Other income

Enter income for the year that has no withholding and does not come from a job or self-employment: interest, dividends, retirement income. Your employer then withholds tax on it through your paycheck, which usually means no quarterly estimated payments. If you would rather not list other income on a form your employer sees, the IRS lets you add an extra amount in Step 4(c) instead.

Step 4(b): Deductions

Leave this blank if you will take the standard deduction and nothing else. Otherwise, use the Deductions Worksheet on page 4. On the 2026 form it adds up:

• Qualified tips, up to $25,000, if your total income is under $150,000 ($300,000 joint).
• Qualified overtime, meaning only the "and-a-half" part of time-and-a-half, up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint), under the same income limit. The no tax on overtime calculator works out that amount.
• Car loan interest on a qualifying passenger vehicle, up to $10,000, if your total income is under $100,000 ($200,000 joint).
• $6,000 for each person 65 or older by the end of the year, if total income is under $75,000 ($150,000 joint).
• Student loan interest, deductible IRA contributions, educator expenses and similar adjustments.
• Itemized deductions, counted only for the part above the standard deduction of $16,100 single, $24,150 head of household or $32,200 joint.
• If you take the standard deduction, cash gifts to charity up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint).

The worksheet total goes in Step 4(b). Your employer subtracts it from your annual pay before working out withholding.

Step 4(c): Extra withholding

Enter any additional tax you want taken out of each paycheck. This is where the Multiple Jobs Worksheet result goes, and it is the simplest dial to turn: an extra $20 every two weeks adds $520 to your withholding over a year, which comes back as a bigger refund or covers tax you would otherwise owe.

Step 5: Sign and date

The form is not valid until you sign it. Give it to your employer, not the IRS. When a new W-4 replaces an old one, the employer has to start using it no later than the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after receiving it.

Three common W-4 setups

• Single, one job, no dependents: Step 1 and Step 5 only. The employer formula already builds in the standard deduction, so withholding lands close to your actual tax.
• Married, both working at similar pay: check the Step 2 box on both W-4s, and put dependents and deductions on the higher-paying job's form.
• One parent with two children under 17: enter $4,400 in Step 3 if total income is within the limit.

Claiming exempt

You can claim exemption from withholding for 2026 only if you had no federal income tax liability in 2025 and expect none in 2026. Check the exempt box, complete Steps 1(a), 1(b) and 5, and nothing else. No income tax will be withheld, and the exemption has to be renewed with a new W-4 by February 16, 2027.

When to use the IRS estimator instead

The IRS suggests its online estimator if you are filling out the form after the year has started, will work only part of the year, have changes during the year, receive dividends, capital gains, Social Security, bonuses or business income, or want the most accurate result for several jobs. Have your latest pay stub ready, since it accounts for tax already withheld this year.

Source: IRS Form W-4 (2026) and its instructions.