How To Fill Out a W-4 Form for 2024
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Caitlyn Moorhead
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Elizabeth Constantineau
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The W-4 form is an Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate designed to let your employer know how much of your income to withhold for federal taxes. You should fill out a new W-4 when you have started a new job, if your personal situation changes or if you want to adjust the amount withheld.
How Do You Correctly Fill Out a W-4 Form?
Your W-4 form will display three sections for you to fill out: the Multiple Jobs Worksheet, a Deductions Worksheet and an Employee’s Tax Withholding Certificate. You can use this step-by-step guide to learn how to fill out a W-4 form for 2024.
Step 1. Fill Out the Multiple Jobs Worksheet
If you have more than one job at a time or are married filing jointly and have a working spouse, you should fill out the Multiple Jobs Worksheet to make sure your withholdings accurately reflect your IRS tax bracket.
“This makes sense if you have, say, two $25,000-a-year jobs,” said Audrey Goetz, a certified public accountant, certified valuation analyst and principal at the accounting firm Rudler, PSC. “Both employers will withhold based on individual incomes of $25,000. However, that does not take into account that you have two jobs that produce $50,000 of income, and you could end up under-withheld come year-end.”
- Line 1: Use the “Higher Paying Job” row and “Lower Paying Job” column from the table on page 4 of your W-4 to find the value at the intersection of your two salaries. Enter that number on line 1.
- Lines 2a, 2b, 2c: Fill out lines 2a, 2b and 2c if you and/or your spouse have three jobs at the same time. If this is not relevant to you, skip to line 3.
- For 2a, use the highest-paying job’s wages for the “Higher Paying Job” row and the annual wages for the next highest-paying job in the “Lower Paying Job” column. Enter the intersection of those numbers under 2a.
- For 2b, add the value for the two jobs that have the highest annual wages. Use that total for the “Higher Paying Job” row. Use the lowest-paying job in the “Lower Paying Job” column.
- Add 2a and 2b together to find the total value for 2c.
- Line 3: Enter the number of yearly pay periods for the highest-paying job. For jobs that pay weekly, for example, enter 52.
- Line 4: Divide the annual amount on line 1 or line 2c by the number of pay periods from line 3 and enter the amount here.
Step 2. Fill Out the Deductions Worksheet
Complete the Deductions Worksheet only if you plan to itemize your deductions or claim certain credits on your income tax return.
- Line 1: Put the estimated amount of your itemized deductions on line 1. Common tax deductions include:
- Medical expenses that are more than 7.5% of your income
- State and local income taxes up to $10,000
- Deductible home mortgage interest
- Charitable contributions
- Line 2: The amount you enter on line 2 will depend on your filing status:
- Enter “$29,200” if you are married filing jointly or a qualified widow(er).
- Enter “$21,900” if you are head of household.
- Enter “$14,600” if you are single or married filing separately.
- Line 3: Subtract line 2 from line 1, and put this number on line 3.
- If the number is zero or less, just put “0.”
- Line 4: Enter your estimated student loan interest, deductible individual retirement account contributions and other income adjustments from Part II of Schedule 1 of Form 1040.
- Line 5: Add lines 3 and 4, and enter the total on line 5.
Thanks!
Step 3. Complete the Employee’s Tax Withholding Certificate
Once you have completed any applicable worksheets, you can begin filling out the W-4 form with your tax withholding choices.
- Step 1: Fill out the Step 1 fields with your personal information.
- Steps 2-4: Complete Steps 2-4 if they apply to you. Step 2 is if you have multiple jobs or your spouse works, Step 3 is for claiming dependents, and Step 4 is for other optional adjustments.
- If you fill out Step 2, check box c if you have one job and your spouse has one job. If there are more than two jobs, use the Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3 or the estimator to ensure you are withholding enough.
- If you fill out Step 3, multiply the number of children under age 17 by $2,000 and put the amount on the line. For all other dependents, multiply the number by $500 and put it on the second line. Add both amounts and put the total on line 3.
- Step 4 is optional. Fill it out only if there is other taxable income not from jobs, if you have other deductions or if you want to claim extra withholding tax each pay period.
- Step 5: Sign your name and provide the date. After you sign and date the form, give it to your employer to fill out the Employers Only field.
How Do You Fill Out a W-4 To Get the Most Money Back?
You get a tax refund when your tax liability is less than the amount you’ve had withheld from your pay, so increasing your withholding also can increase your refund. You can increase it by claiming extra withholding on Step 4, line 4c, of the Employee’s Withholding Certificate.
What’s the Difference Between a W-4 and a W-2?
A W-4 is the IRS tax form you fill out upon employment, so your employer will withhold your desired amount of federal income tax from your paycheck.
A W-2 is the IRS tax form you receive from your employer at the end of the tax year. It includes information on how much money you earned, how much money was withheld for federal and state taxes, plus Social Security and Medicare tax withholdings and contributions to your employer-sponsored 401(k) account. You’ll use the W-2 form when filing your taxes.
Final Take
Learning how to fill out a W-4 form correctly can help you to avoid a massive tax bill. Remember to take your time, read through everything and gather any documentation you may need to make sure everything is correct for your tax paperwork.
FAQ
Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding W-4 forms and taxes.- Do you claim zero or one on your W-4?
- The difference between claiming zero or one is in the withholding amounts. By claiming zero, you are indicating that you want the most amount of tax taken out of your pay each pay period. Claiming one for yourself will mean less tax is taken out of your pay each pay period, so it is a matter of preference and how you would like to budget.
- Will the amount of money earned from investments and dividends affect the W-4?
- The IRS classifies investments and dividends as non-wage income. When you are earning a significant amount of non-wage income, you can make estimated tax payments using Form 1040-ES to avoid owing additional tax when tax season rolls around.
- Should I include capital gains on my W-4?
- No. The capital gains tax rate is the same as your personal income tax rate if you held the asset for a year or less. Like other investment income, short-term and long-term capital gains are non-wage income, so they're not listed on your W-4.
- How many allowances can be claimed on a W-4 form?
- Since the IRS made changes to and redesigned the W-4 form, personal allowances have been discontinued.
- How long does it take to get a tax refund?
- Most taxpayers receive their refunds within 21 days, according to the IRS, but how long it takes to get your refund depends on whether you request a check or direct deposit -- direct deposit is faster -- and whether your return requires additional review.
Gabrielle Olya and Daria Uhlig contributed to the reporting for this article.
Information is accurate as of Feb. 26, 2024.
- TurboTax. 2023. "Fatten Your Paycheck and Still Get a Tax Refund."
- Tax Policy Center. "Key Elements of the U.S. Tax System."
