The Form W-4 is an IRS employee withholding certificate used to tell your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from each paycheck. It helps ensure the right amount is taken out over the year so you don’t owe a large balance at tax time or overpay and receive a bigger refund. Key points:

• Purpose: To communicate your tax situation (filing status, number of dependents/allowances, additional withholding preferences) so your employer withholds the correct amount of federal income tax from your wages.

• How it works: The more allowances or claims you indicate, the less tax your employer withholds; fewer allowances increase withholding. You can also designate extra withholding if desired.

• When to update: It’s common to adjust or refresh your W-4 whenever your personal or financial situation changes (e.g., marriage, a new dependent, a new job, or substantial changes in income).

• Practical note: The W-4 does not go to the IRS; employers use it to compute withholding and forward those amounts to the government on your behalf. At year-end, you’ll use your Form 1040 to file your taxes and reconcile what was withheld with your actual tax liability.

If you’d like, I can tailor this to your situation (filing status, dependents, other income) and show how different W-4 entries would affect your take-home pay.