At year-end, it’s important for employees to update their W-4 forms to make sure their tax withholding is correct.
Who Should Update Their Withholding?
Employees may benefit from double-checking their withholding if they haven’t looked at their paystubs or made any withholding changes in a while.
In general, they may want to adjust withholdings if they:
- Got married or divorced.
- Had a child.
- Bought a home.
- Received raises or bonuses since the previous tax season.
Employees also may want to adjust withholding if tax laws have changed in a way that affects them.
How to Know How Much to Withhold in Taxes
The IRS offers a convenient tool called the Paycheck Checkup to help taxpayers determine if they are having the right amount of tax withheld from each paycheck.
What Employees Should Do to Change Withholding or Claim Exemption
To make any changes to their withholding, an employee should complete a new Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate and submit it to the employer. The employee will also need to change the withholding for state taxes using their state’s withholding form. If an employee wants to claim exemption from withholding, he or she must complete a new Form W-4 and change their withholding status to ‘single’ or ‘zero.’