Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate Instructions

Enter the amount of cash contributions made to charities, up to $1,000 ($2,000 if married filing jointly), if electing the standard deduction.

Enter the calculated amount from the comparison between line 10 and line 13.

Enter an estimate of your qualified tips if your total income is less than $150,000 ($300,000 if married filing jointly), up to $25,000.

Enter an estimate of your qualified overtime compensation if your total income is less than $150,000 ($300,000 if married filing jointly), up to $12,500 ($25,000 if married filing jointly).

Enter an estimate of your qualified passenger vehicle loan interest if your total income is less than $100,000 ($200,000 if married filing jointly), up to $10,000.

Enter the employer’s full legal name and street address (city, state, and ZIP) as it should appear on payroll and tax records.

Enter the employee’s first day of work for this employer.

Enter the employer’s federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) as assigned by the IRS.

Check this box only if you meet both conditions for exemption (no federal income tax liability last year and expect none this year) and you are claiming exemption from withholding for 2026.

Enter the income threshold that corresponds to your filing status.

Enter your medical and dental expenses that exceed 7.5% of your total income.

Enter the amount of state and local taxes paid, up to the specified limit based on your income and filing status.

Enter your home mortgage interest expense, including mortgage insurance premiums, if your home acquisition debt is below the specified limit.

Enter your charitable contributions that exceed 0.5% of your total income.

Enter the total amount for any other itemized deductions not listed above.

Enter your total income for the limitation on itemized deductions calculation.

Enter the result of subtracting line 4 from line 8a, or enter -0- if line 4 is greater than line 8a.

Enter the limited itemized deduction amount, calculated by entering the amount from line 7 if line 9 is greater than line 8b, or multiplying line 7 by 94% (0.94) otherwise.

Enter the amount from the two-jobs worksheet table (use the “Higher Paying Job” row and the “Lower Paying Job” column on page 5) that corresponds to your household salaries.

Enter the amount from the appropriate table that corresponds to the intersection of your highest‑paying job's annual wages and your next highest‑paying job's annual wages. Fill only if 'Line 1 — Two jobs amount' is not filled.

Enter the total annual wages obtained by adding the two highest-paying jobs (the combined amount) to use for the worksheet calculation. Fill only if 'Line 2a — Higher‑paying job intersection amount' is filled.

Enter the sum of the amounts on lines 2a and 2b as the total extra withholding for three jobs. Fill only if 'Line 2a — Higher‑paying job intersection amount', 'Line 2b — Combined wages of two highest-paying jobs' are filled (all).

Enter the annual amount from line 1 or line 2c divided by the number of pay periods on line 3 — the dollar amount to withhold from each pay period for the highest paying job. Fill only if 'Line 1 — Two jobs amount', 'Line 2c — Sum of lines 2a and 2b (Three jobs total)', 'topmostSubform[0].Page3[0].f3_05[0' are filled (any) and 5 is filled.

Enter the deduction amount if you are 65 or older before the end of the year.

Enter the deduction amount if your spouse is 65 or older before the end of the year and has a social security number valid for employment.

Enter your applicable standard deduction amount based on your filing status.

Enter your first name and middle initial exactly as you want them to appear on your employer's records (do not include titles).

Enter your last name (family name/surname) exactly as shown on your Social Security card.

Enter your home mailing address, including apartment or unit number if applicable.

Enter the city or town, two-letter state abbreviation, and ZIP code for the address provided.

Enter your Social Security number exactly as it appears on your Social Security card.

Check this box if you are single or if you are married but choose to file your federal tax return separately from your spouse.

Check this box if you are married and will file a joint federal tax return with your spouse, or if you qualify as a surviving spouse for filing purposes.

Check this box only if you are unmarried and pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for yourself and a qualifying person, and will file as head of household.

Check this box only if there are exactly two jobs total (yours and one other) and you want to use the simplified two-job option; do the same on the other job’s Form W-4 so withholding is adjusted for the two-job situation.

Enter the dollar amount equal to the number of qualifying children under age 17 multiplied by $2,200.

Enter the dollar amount equal to the number of other dependents multiplied by $500.

Enter the total dollar amount from Steps 3(a) and 3(b), plus any other credits to calculate the total for Step 3. Fill only if 'Step 3(a) Amount for qualifying children under age 17', 'Step 3(b) Amount for other dependents' 3(a) or 3(b) have amounts (any).

Enter the total amount of other non-job income you expect this year that won’t have withholding (for example interest, dividends, retirement income) to be used for additional withholding.

Enter the amount of deductions from the Deductions Worksheet that you expect to claim this year which will reduce your withholding.

Enter any additional tax you want withheld from each pay period.

Enter the sum of the amounts from lines 2, 4, 5, and 14 to calculate the total deductions for Step 4(b) of Form W-4.

Enter the sum of the amounts from lines 1a, 1b, and 1c.

Enter the sum of the amounts from lines 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, and 6e.

Enter the total deduction amount for seniors age 65 or older, which is the sum of lines 3a and 3b.

Enter the sum of the amounts calculated on line 11 (Standard Deduction) and line 12 (Cash gifts to charities).