The modern W-4 doesn't use "allowances" anymore. Here's what replaced them.
Updated October 2026 for the 2026 Form W-4.
Form W-4 tells your employer how much federal income tax to take out of each paycheck. It was redesigned in 2020, and it works differently from the version many people remember. There are no "allowances" to count. Instead the form asks direct questions about your filing status, other jobs, dependents and deductions, and your employer's payroll system turns the answers into a withholding amount.
Download Form W-4 (2026) with instructionsOfficial PDF from IRS.gov. Page 1 is the form, and the following pages hold the instructions and worksheets.You fill one out when you start a job, and you can hand your employer a new one at any time. It is worth redoing after any of these:
If you never give your employer a W-4, they must withhold as if you were single with no other adjustments, which is usually more than you need if you have dependents.
Enter your name, address, Social Security number and filing status: single or married filing separately, married filing jointly, or head of household. Filing status sets the standard deduction and tax brackets your employer uses, so it has the biggest effect on the result. Only check head of household if you are unmarried and pay more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying person.
Complete this step if you hold more than one job at a time, or if you are married filing jointly and your spouse also works. Skipping it is the most common reason people owe money at tax time, because each employer otherwise withholds as if its paycheck were your only income. The form gives three options:
If your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less 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. This amount reduces your withholding dollar for dollar across the year, so a parent with two children has about $4,400 less withheld than someone with none. Complete this step on only one job's W-4.
You can claim exemption from withholding only if you owed no federal income tax last year and expect to owe none this year. On the 2026 form you check the exempt box and complete only Steps 1(a), 1(b) and 5. The exemption lasts for one calendar year, so you need to give your employer a new W-4 by mid-February of the next year to keep it. Social Security and Medicare are still withheld.
An unsigned form is not valid, and it is a common reason HR sends a W-4 back. Your employer has to put a new W-4 into effect no later than the start of the first payroll period ending 30 days after you hand it in, and most do it sooner.
Too little withholding means a bill when you file, and possibly an underpayment penalty. You generally avoid the penalty if your withholding covers at least 90% of this year's tax or 100% of last year's (110% if your income was above $150,000). Too much withholding means a refund, which feels nice but is your own money returned without interest.
A practical check: run your pay through the paycheck calculator, compare the federal tax it shows with the federal withholding on your pay stub, and move Step 4(c) up or down until the two are close.
The W-4 covers federal withholding only. Most states with an income tax have their own withholding certificate, such as California's DE 4 or Arizona's A-4, and a few simply use the federal form. Check your state's page for how its tax works.
Sources: IRS, About Form W-4; IRS Tax Withholding Estimator; IRS Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.