How to Fill Out the 2026 Form W-4, Step by Step

Your employer plugs your W-4 entries into the IRS withholding formulas in Publication 15-T to decide how much federal income tax comes out of each paycheck. The form does not change the tax you owe for the year. It changes how much you prepay, which decides whether you get a refund or owe when you file.

If you never turn in a W-4, your employer must treat you as a single filer with no other entries. Turn in a new one when you start a job, marry or divorce, have a child, pick up a second job, or expect tips, overtime, or other deductions to change your tax. You can submit a new W-4 at any time, and the old one stays in effect until you do.

Only Step 1 and Step 5 are required. Fill in Steps 2 through 4 only if they apply to you.

Enter your name, address, and Social Security number, then check one box: single or married filing separately; married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse; or head of household. The status you check sets the standard deduction and bracket widths used for withholding, such as the $16,100 standard deduction for single filers.

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 person. The 2026 form also warns that several credits and deductions, including the tips and overtime deductions, require a Social Security number valid for employment.

Complete Step 2 if you hold more than one job at a time, or if you are married filing jointly and your spouse also works. Each job's payroll otherwise withholds as if it were your only income, and the household ends up under-withheld. You pick one of three options.

Option (a) is the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator, the most accurate choice and the one to use if either of you has self-employment income. Option (b) is the Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3 of the form, which gives a yearly amount you divide by your pay periods and enter in Step 4(c) for the highest-paying job.

Option (c) is the Step 2 checkbox. If there are only two jobs in total, check the box on both W-4s. Payroll then cuts the standard deduction and every bracket in half for each job. The IRS says this is accurate for jobs with similar pay; if the lower-paying job pays less than half of the higher one, the worksheet is more accurate, and the checkbox will withhold more than necessary.

With two jobs, complete Steps 3 through 4(b) on only one W-4, ideally the one for the highest-paying job, and leave those steps blank on the other.

If your total income will be $200,000 or less (a higher limit applies to joint filers), multiply your qualifying children under 17 by $2,200, add the smaller amount the form allows for each other dependent, and enter the total. You can also add an estimate of other credits, such as education credits.

Each dollar in Step 3 cuts a full dollar of withholding over the year. That makes it the most powerful line on the form. Couples who both work should claim each child on only one W-4, the same one that carries Steps 3 through 4(b).

Step 4(a) is for income with no withholding, such as interest, dividends, or retirement income. Entering it here spreads the tax across your paychecks so you are less likely to need estimated payments. Leave out income from jobs and self-employment.

Step 4(b) is for deductions beyond the standard deduction, figured on the Deductions Worksheet on page 4. For 2026 it starts with the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act deductions. Line 1a takes qualified tips, up to $25,000. Line 1b takes qualified overtime, only the "and-a-half" portion of time-and-a-half pay, up to $12,500 ($25,000 married filing jointly). Both lines apply if your total income is under $150,000 ($300,000 joint). Line 1c covers qualified passenger vehicle loan interest.

The worksheet continues with $6,000 for each person age 65 or older if total income is under $75,000 ($150,000 joint), then student loan interest and deductible IRA contributions, then itemized deductions, of which only the amount above your standard deduction counts. If you skip Step 4(b), withholding assumes the standard deduction and none of the new deductions. See our guides to no tax on overtime and no tax on tips to estimate those lines.

Step 4(c) is a flat extra amount withheld from every paycheck. Use it for the Multiple Jobs Worksheet result, side income, or a buffer if you would rather get a refund than owe.

The table shows federal withholding for a single filer earning $75,000, paid $2,884.62 every two weeks, under the 2026 percentage method. Each row changes one entry from the default.

The default W-4 withholds $295.00 per paycheck, $7,670 a year, which matches the federal tax a single filer owes on $75,000 with the standard deduction. Checking the Step 2 box raises withholding by $180.65 per paycheck, to $475.65, because each job now gets half the standard deduction and half-width brackets. That is right if a second job pays about the same; for a worker with one job it over-withholds sharply.

Claiming one child in Step 3 drops withholding to $210.38, spreading the $2,200 credit across 26 paychecks. Entering $10,000 of other income in Step 4(a) adds $84.62 per paycheck, and $50 in Step 4(c) adds exactly $50.

Entering a $12,500 overtime deduction in Step 4(b) lowers withholding to $204.62, a cut of $90.38 per paycheck, or $5,320 a year instead of $7,670. That gap is roughly the tax saving the deduction produces at this income. Without that entry, the same saving waits until you file.

The 2026 form puts the exemption checkbox in its own section after Step 4. You can claim exemption only if you had no federal income tax liability for 2025 and expect none for 2026. If you claim it, complete only Steps 1(a), 1(b), and 5, and file a new W-4 by February 16, 2027 to keep the exemption.

Sign and date the form in Step 5. An unsigned W-4 is not valid, and your employer will keep using your previous form or the single-with-no-entries default.

A bigger paycheck means less tax prepaid, so the goal is to match withholding to your real tax, not to zero it out. Fill in Step 3 for every child you will claim. Enter qualified tips, overtime, and the senior deduction in Step 4(b) if you expect them. Uncheck the Step 2 box if you no longer have two jobs, and remove any old Step 4(c) amount you no longer need.

Be careful not to go too far. If withholding falls short, you can owe a balance plus an underpayment penalty when you file. Recheck your W-4 after any big pay change, and remember that bonuses are withheld separately, usually at a flat 22%, as our bonus tax guide explains.

To see what a change does to your take-home pay, run your salary through the paycheck calculator before and after. A bigger paycheck now and a smaller refund later is the same money; the W-4 only decides when you get it.