Employee's Withholding Certificate: Guide on How to Fill out a W-4 Form

If you are formally employed and it is tax time, you may find that you need to fill out and submit a W-4 form. Usually, your employer will use the W-4 form that they have on file for you, but if you have changed jobs, you will need to fill in a new W-4 form.

Fortunately, with so many tools to help, the process of filling out a W-4 form is not overly complicated. Here, we will share with you how to fill out a W-4 form, but let's start with what it is.

What is a Form W-4?

The form W-4 form often has the title "Employee's Withholding Certificate". It is an IRS form that helps your employer determine how much tax they will withhold from your paycheck. As an employee, you will fill out this form once and your employer will use the information that you provide to determine how much taxes they remit to the IRS or the state.

How to Download Form W-4

You can download form W-4 directly from the IRS website or the official website for your State if applicable. There is also a lot of tax support software that will allow you to download the W-4 form directly. Once downloaded, you can use a PDF program to fill out the form before submitting it to your employer.

When Do I Need to Fill Out a Form W-4?

Form W-4 is an IRS tax form that is filled by an employee so that their employer can have the information they need to withhold taxes from their paycheck. So, this is a tax form that you will fill out if you are formally employed. Usually, employees will be required to fill out a W-4 form as soon as they are employed and the employer will use the form on file as long as the employee is working at their organization.

If you have already filled a Form W-4 for your employer, chances are that you will not need to fill a new one every tax season, your employer will just use the one they have on file. But you may need to fill out a Form W-4 if the information in the old one needs updating or if you have changed jobs and you are yet to provide your tax information to your new employer.

The Best PDF Editor to Fill Out W-4 form

UPDF is one of the best PDF tools that can help you fill out any professional or educational form hassle-free. You can use the "Reader" mode to write the required information in the fillable fields. In addition, this mode also allows you to select any option from the drop-down menus present in the form. Users even get the chance to fill out the checkboxes with the help of this PDF tool.

If you want to add new text fields or buttons to the W-4 fillable form, you can make use of the "Prepare Form" mode of this PDF form creator. Moreover, you can also play around with the settings of the form to customize the fillable forms according to your needs.

The following is a breakdown of all the standout features that you can expect when you choose UPDF;

• UPDF turns out to be a robust AI-powered tool that fills out any PDF form because of its enhanced UI/UX design and algorithms. It automatically highlights the fillable fields, making it entirely easy to add relevant information or convert a non-fillable form into a fillable form.
• It is also a good option if you want to add new drop-down menus or checkboxes to create a new form. Users get the option to create forms from scratch with the help of this PDF form creator.
• It is the perfect tool to read and annotate PDFs. There are numerous annotation features to choose from, allowing you to collaborate and share a PDF document with others more easily.
• It is also a great tool for the conversion of PDF files to other formats. You can use it to convert PDF documents to popular formats like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, and most image formats.

How to Fill and Edit Fillable W-4 Forms?

As we have discussed before, UPDF allows you to fill in and edit the W-4 forms with ease. This PDF form editor can help you work on any form to fulfill your professional needs.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Fill W-4 Form via UPDF  

Once you have downloaded a fillable form on your device, you can fill it in using the help of UPDF. The following simple-to-follow steps will help you to make the form-filling process easier.

Step 1: Download UPDF to Fill W-4 Forms with Ease

First and foremost, you must download the UPDF form editor on your device to access all the form-filling features. Once you download this PDF form filler, upload the W-4 fillable form on its interface to kickstart the form-filling process.

Step 2: Enter Reader Mode to Fill in the Fillable Fields

After uploading your fillable form on the UPDF interface, you will enter Reader Mode automatically. Here, you will see all the fillable fields are highlighted to make sure that you know where to enter the relevant information.

Step 3: Fill in Your Personal Information in the Form

Now, you can click on any fillable text field to enter your required personal information. Moreover, you can also select the desired option in the drop-down menus and checkboxes. Once you are done filling in the form, simply save the PDF form to get the job done.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Edit Fillable W-4 Form via UPDF

If the fillable W-4 form is missing some text fields or a drop-down menu, you can even add them with the help of UPDF. All you have to do is take guidance from the steps below to undertake this task.

Step 1: Access the Prepare Form Mode to Edit Fillable Forms

After uploading the fillable W-4 form on the UPDF interface, hit the "Prepare Form" icon on the left toolbar. By doing so, you will access all the PDF form editing features that will help you edit the properties of specific text fields and drop-down menus.

Step 2: Doble-Click on the Fields You Want to Edit

Once you have accessed the "Prepare Form" mode, double-click on the specific field you want to modify. Afterward, you will see a new "Properties" menu sub-window on the right corner of your screen. Here, you can adjust several properties of the fillable field, including tooltip, form field visibility, and item list in case of drop-down menus.

Step 3: Add New Fillable Fields in Your Form

Now, if your W-4 form is missing some fillable fields, you can easily add them using the toolbar at the top of your screen. Simply click on any relevant icon to add the "Text Field," "Button," "Check Box," or "Drop-down" menu at your desired location on the form.  

Click the "Free Download" button below to take advantage of all these PDF form editing features. If all these features manage to satisfy your professional needs, you can upgrade to the UPDF Pro version to enjoy the full functionality of this tool.

Video Tutorial on How to Fill Out a PDF Form

Common Mistakes to Avoid when Filing Out Form W-4

If it is your first time filling out a W-4 form, the following common mistakes are likely to crop up;

• Filling out incorrect income numbers. When filling out a W-4 form, all income must be reported in full including any wages, interest, and dividends that you may earn.
• Forgetting to declare your dependency status. You are a dependent if you are a child or relative of a taxpayer and claiming this status can reduce the income that is subject to taxation.
• Choosing the wrong filing status. The filing statuses you can choose from including single, married and filing jointly, married and filing separately, head of household, or qualifying widow or widower with dependent. Knowing your filing status in advance can help you avoid a lot of problems later.
• Filing too early is a common mistake that may cause you to leave out some important information.
• Equally problematic is submitting your filing returns too late. This can lead to various kinds of penalties.

Conclusion

You may find it challenging to fill out a W-4 form or any other type of tax return for the first time. A PDF form filler like UPDF can make the task easier for you with the help of its clearly guided interface. As this tool highlights the fillable fields, you can see where you have to add particular information to the form.

So, without wasting time, hit the "Free Download" button to add this efficient PDF form filler to your workflow. You can also purchase the UPDF Pro version to avoid any limitations while filling in the W-4 forms.