How to Fill Out a W-4 With Two Jobs

Filling out your W-4 form correctly will help you avoid big surprises when you file your taxes.

You need to complete your W-4 form accurately to ensure that when you file taxes for the year, you will not receive a large unanticipated tax bill. The W-4 form tells your employer how much tax to deduct from your paycheck per pay period. Your employer pays these taxes to the IRS quarterly on your behalf. The worksheets on the W-4 will help you estimate your tax liability when you have multiple jobs. It is only necessary to calculate estimated tax liabilities for the extra income if the combined income from your two jobs exceeds $40,000 as of the current year.

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Worksheets

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Step 1

Fill out the "Personal Allowances Worksheet" section on page 1 of the W-4 form for both jobs.

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Step 2

Skip to the "Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate" section of page 1 of the W-4 form if the total in line H of the "Personal Allowances Worksheet" section is zero. You do not need to complete the "Two Earners/Multiple Jobs Worksheet."

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Step 3

Turn to page 2 of the W-4 form if the total in line H of the Personal Allowances Worksheet on page 1 of the W-4 form is higher than zero. Fill out the section of the form entitled "Two-Earners/Multiple Jobs Worksheet."

Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate (EWAC)

Step 1

Enter your name, social security number, home address and marital status in lines 1 through 3 of the EWAC section of the W-4.

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Step 2

Enter the number from line H in the "Personal Allowances Worksheet" section of page 1 of the W-4 form into line 5 of the EWAC section on page 1 of the W-4 form.

Step 3

Enter the total from line 9 of the "Two-Earner/Multiple Jobs Worksheet" into line 6 of the "Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate."

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Step 4

Enter exempt on line 7 if you qualify for tax exemption because you had no tax liability last year and expect no tax liability this year.

Step 5

Sign and date the form below line 7.

Tip

Fill out the worksheets carefully following included instructions.

Your employer will give you a W-4 form to fill out before adding you to payroll.

Call for a replacement social security card at 800-772-1213, the telephone number on line 4, if your last name is different from the name on your social security card.

Warning

Failure to carefully follow worksheet instructions can lead to inaccurate deductions.

Double-check your figures before returning your W-4 form to your employer.

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