W-4 Calculator 2026: Fill Out Your Form W-4

How to use this calculator

Filing status. The status you’ll check in Step 1(c). Married people filing separately check “Single or Married filing separately.”
Your job. Enter your annual taxable pay (after 401(k) and other pre-tax deductions) and how often you’re paid.
Second job or spouse’s job. If you have two jobs, or you’re married filing jointly and your spouse works, enter the other job’s pay. Then choose whether to put the extra withholding in Step 4(c) or check the Step 2(c) box on both W-4s.
Dependents. Children under 17 and other dependents go in Step 3.
Refund you want. $0 aims for a break-even return.
Other income and deductions cover Step 4(a) other income and the Step 4(b) Deductions Worksheet: itemized deductions, IRA and student loan adjustments, tips, overtime, car loan interest, age 65+ and charitable gifts.

The result lists what to write on each line, with a column per job when there are two, and the refund you can expect with those entries.

How the W-4 entries are worked out

Your employer turns the W-4 into withholding with the IRS Publication 15-T percentage method. The calculator does the same thing, then compares the result with your projected 2026 tax.

Step 4(c) = \frac{Projected tax + Target refund - Projected withholding}{Pay periods}

Step 3 is $2,200 per child under 17 and $500 per other dependent, if total income is $200,000 or less ($400,000 joint).
Step 4(a) is your other income; Step 4(b) is the Deductions Worksheet total.
With two jobs and the Step 4(c) method, the starting point is the 2026 Multiple Jobs Worksheet table amount divided by your pay periods.
The calculator projects a year of withholding from both jobs, compares it with your 2026 tax after credits, and adjusts Step 4(c) to land on your target. If you’d be over-withheld, it lowers Step 4(c) or raises Step 4(b) instead.

Worked examples

One job, $65,000, single. Leave Steps 2 to 4 blank. Projected withholding and projected tax are both $5,620, so you’d break even. Want a $1,000 refund? Enter $39 in Step 4(c) on a biweekly paycheck, which brings the refund to about $1,014.

Married, $90,000 and $50,000, two children. The 2026 Multiple Jobs Worksheet table gives $6,610 a year, or $255 per biweekly paycheck, and Step 3 is $4,400. Those form entries would withhold $10,450 against $8,740 of tax, a refund of about $1,700. To break even, enter $190 in Step 4(c) on the higher-paying job’s W-4 instead. If you check the Step 2(c) box on both W-4s, the calculator adds $7,400 in Step 4(b) to offset the extra withholding the box causes when pay is uneven.

Married, $70,000 and $65,000. With pay this close, checking the Step 2(c) box on both W-4s nearly works by itself: it would withhold $12,190 against $12,040 of tax. The table method gives $222 per paycheck, while $176 is enough to break even.

Itemizing. A single filer earning $60,000 with $30,000 of itemized deductions enters $13,900 in Step 4(b), the amount above the $16,100 standard deduction. Without it, about $1,670 too much would be withheld.

2026 Multiple Jobs Worksheet (excerpt)

Annual extra withholding for married couples filing jointly, from page 5 of the 2026 Form W-4. Divide by the higher-paying job’s pay periods for Step 4(c).

Higher-paying job	Lower: $20,000–29,999	$40,000–49,999	$60,000–69,999	$80,000–89,999
$40,000–49,999	$3,250	$4,020	$4,190	$4,590
$60,000–69,999	$3,420	$4,190	$4,760	$6,760
$80,000–99,999	$3,420	$5,440	$7,610	$9,610
$100,000–149,999	$6,270	$9,040	$11,210	$13,210
$150,000–239,999	$6,500	$9,670	$12,240	$14,640

The full tables for single and head of household filers are built into the calculator. If more than one job pays over $120,000, the form sends you to Publication 505 or the IRS estimator; the calculator handles that case from the projected tax.

Tips

Put Steps 3 and 4 on one W-4 only, the highest-paying job’s, or the credits and deductions get counted twice.
Rerun it after big changes: a raise, a new job, a bonus, a baby or a spouse who starts work. The paycheck calculator shows what each check will look like.
Bonuses are usually withheld at a flat 22%; see the bonus tax calculator to check whether that’s enough.
Starting mid-year? This calculator assumes the W-4 covers a full year. Later in the year, check with the tax refund calculator using your latest pay stub, then adjust Step 4(c) for the paychecks left.

Assumptions & limitations

2026 Form W-4 and Publication 15-T (2026) percentage method; projected tax uses the 2026 brackets and credits from Rev. Proc. 2025-32.
Pay is assumed steady for a full calendar year. Bonuses, commissions and mid-year changes aren’t modeled.
The earned income credit isn’t counted, because it doesn’t affect withholding; you’d receive it as part of your refund. The refundable child tax credit is counted.
Self-employment income, capital gains, Social Security benefits and the 3.8% net investment income tax aren’t modeled. If they apply, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator, as the W-4 itself recommends.
Results are rounded to whole dollars per paycheck, so the projected refund can be off by a few dollars.

Sources

This estimate is for planning only and isn’t tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

What should I put on my W-4 to get no refund and owe nothing?

With one job, the standard deduction and no other income, leave Steps 2 through 4 blank, apart from Step 3 for any children. The withholding tables are built to come out close to even for that case. Two jobs, side income, itemized deductions or a target refund need entries in Steps 2 or 4, which this calculator works out.

How do I fill out a W-4 if my spouse and I both work?

Do one of three things. Use the Multiple Jobs Worksheet and put the result in Step 4(c) on the higher-paying job’s W-4, or check the Step 2(c) box on both W-4s if the two jobs pay about the same, or use an online estimator. Put dependents and deductions on only one W-4, ideally the higher-paying job’s.

What is Step 4(c) on the W-4?

It’s an extra dollar amount withheld from every paycheck on top of the normal withholding. It’s the most direct way to fix under-withholding from a second job, side income or a bonus, and you can change it any time with a new W-4.

What’s new on the 2026 Form W-4?

The Step 4(b) Deductions Worksheet now includes the new deductions for qualified tips (up to $25,000), qualified overtime (up to $12,500, or $25,000 joint), car loan interest (up to $10,000), the $6,000 senior deduction and up to $1,000 ($2,000 joint) of cash gifts to charity for non-itemizers. Claiming them lowers your withholding.

Do I need to give my employer a new W-4 every year?

No. Your W-4 stays in effect until you change it, unless you claimed exemption from withholding, which expires each year. It’s worth rechecking whenever you marry, divorce, have a child, change jobs or your spouse starts or stops working.

How do I get a bigger refund with my W-4?

Enter the refund you want and the calculator adds the needed amount to Step 4(c). Keep in mind a refund is your own money returned without interest; an extra $40 per biweekly paycheck works out to about $1,040 more at tax time.

Updated November 2026. Results are estimates for educational purposes and depend on the inputs you provide.

Your 2026 Form W-4