Key Takeaways
- It's important to adjust your withholding to ensure the correct amount of federal income tax is withheld from your paycheck so you don’t face a large tax bill or have too much withheld.
- You adjust your withholding by filing IRS Form W-4, which you can obtain from your employer's HR or payroll department or download from the IRS website.
- To complete Form W-4, you'll need to enter your personal information, calculate adjustments for multiple jobs or a working spouse, claim any dependents, factor in other income and deductions, and sign and date the form before submitting it to your employer.
- If you want to be exempt from withholding, meaning you didn't owe federal income taxes last year and don't expect to owe this year, you can indicate this on your W-4 form.
Updating your withholding
Life events such as marriage, divorce, having a baby, or getting a promotion or bonus can have a big impact on your taxes. Filling out a new Form W-4 tells your employer how to calculate federal income tax withholding for your paycheck. That way, you won't wind up owing a big tax bill or having too much money withheld from your paycheck throughout the year.
- If it's been a while since you filled out Form W-4, you should know that the form was entirely redesigned.
- The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 significantly changed federal tax laws, so workers and their employers needed a more up-to-date form to calculate the amount of federal tax to withhold.
Here's what you need to do to complete this form.
TurboTax Tip:
Major life events like marriage, divorce, having a child, or receiving a promotion can significantly impact your tax situation, necessitating a review and update of your withholding.
Obtain a copy of IRS Form W-4
Your company's human resources or payroll department should be able to provide a copy of Form W-4. If not, you can always download Form W-4 from the IRS website.
Step 1: Enter your personal information
The first step to filling out Form W-4 is relatively easy to complete. Simply provide your name, Social Security number, and address. This section also asks you for your tax filing status.
If you're exempt from withholding — meaning you didn't pay any federal income taxes last year and don't expect to owe any this year — you can choose not to have any federal income tax withheld from your pay. In that case, just skip to Step 4 below. Otherwise, move on to Step 2.
Step 2: Calculate for multiple jobs or a working spouse
You might need help figuring out how to calculate federal withholding tax from your paycheck if you either:
- have more than one job
- are married and your spouse also works
The easiest way to do that is to use TurboTax's W-4 Withholding Calculator. It will walk you through a series of questions about your income, tax deductions, and credits, and it provides instructions for completing Step 3 and 4 of the form.
Just remember, while you need to fill out a W-4 for each employer you work for, you should only complete Steps 2 through 4 for your highest paying job. For other jobs, leave those steps blank.
Step 3: Claim any dependents
If you claim any dependents on your tax return, use the results from the W-4 Withholding Calculator to complete this section.
Otherwise, move on to Step 4.
Step 4: Factor other adjustments
This section is a catchall for other income, deductions, and adjustments to your withholding. Use the results from the W-4 Withholding Calculator to complete this section.
Note: If you determined that you're exempt from withholding in Step 2, simply write "EXEMPT" in the space under box 4(c) and move on to Step 5.
Step 5: Sign
The final section of Form W-4 requires you to sign and date the form. Then, simply return the completed form to your payroll department.
If you've been at your job for a while, your employer should already have a W-4 on file. You don't need to fill out a new W-4 if you're happy with your withholding. However, if you change jobs, you'll need to complete the updated version of Form W-4. You can also fill one out any time you want to adjust your withholding.
With TurboTax Live Full Service, a local expert matched to your unique situation will do your taxes for you start to finish. Or, get unlimited help and advice from tax experts while you do your taxes with TurboTax Live Assisted.
And if you want to file your own taxes, TurboTax will guide you step by step so you can feel confident they'll be done right. No matter which way you file, we guarantee 100% accuracy and your maximum refund.
Already a TurboTax customer? Login to use our refund calculator. We've prefilled your info so you can quickly calculate your next tax return based on your life changes..