INSTRUCTIONS: EMPLOYEE'S WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE CERTIFICATE (Form W-4)

A W-4 form is used by employers to determine how much of employee income should be withheld and paid in the form of federal income tax. The W-4 form can be obtained directly from the IRS website.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 1: Write "1" on line A if you cannot be claimed as a dependent.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 2: Write a "1" on line B if you are single with one job, married to someone without a job, or if the money earned from a second job or by a spouse is below $1,500.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 3: Write a "1" on line C for your spouse. You may enter "0" if your spouse has a job or you work multiple jobs.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 4: Write down how many dependents you will claim on your tax return on line D.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 5: Write a "1" on line E if filing as the head of your household.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 6: Write a "1" if you are planning to claim an exemption on $1,900 or more in child or dependent expenses.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 7: Single individuals who will make less than $61,000 should write a "2" for every child in line G to determine what their child tax credit will be. Subtract 1 from the total number if you have 3 or more dependent children. Follow the same guidelines if you are married and will jointly be making less than $90,000. Single people making between $61,000 and $84,000, as well as married couples making between $90,000 and $119,000, should add the number of children and write it in this line. Add one to the total sum if you have six or more children.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 8: Combine all the numbers from lines A-G. Write the total in line H.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 9: Transpose the number from line H on the top half to line 5 on the bottom half of the page.

Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate W-4 Step 10: Give the bottom half to your employer so they can use it to determine how much of your income to withhold.