Photographs of missing children. The Internal Revenue Service is a proud partner with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of
missing children
selected by the Center may appear in this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank. You can help bring these children
home by looking at the
photographs and calling 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) if you recognize a child.
The federal income tax is a pay-as-you-go tax. This means you must pay the tax as you earn or receive income during the year.
As a wage earner, you pay federal income tax by having it withheld from your pay during the year. This is your “withholding.” Your withholding
is based on the number of allowances you claim when you file Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, with
your employer.
The purpose of this publication is to help you check your withholding and, if necessary, prepare Form W-4 to adjust your withholding.
When you
first begin a job, you must complete a Form W-4 and give it to your employer to establish your initial withholding. You can
adjust your withholding by
filing a new Form W-4 with your employer at any time.
Note.
If you have not changed jobs, you do not have to file Form W-4 each year unless you need to adjust your withholding.
For more detailed information about Form W-4, see Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax.
Comments and suggestions.
We welcome your comments about this publication and your suggestions for future editions.
You can write to us at the following address:
Internal Revenue Service
Individual Forms and Publications Branch
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I
1111 Constitution Ave. NW, IR-6406
Washington, DC 20224
We respond to many letters by telephone. Therefore, it would be helpful if you would include your daytime phone number,
including the area code, in
your correspondence.
You can email us at
*taxforms@irs.gov. (The asterisk must be included in the
address.) Please put “
Publications Comment” on the subject line. Although we cannot respond individually to each email, we do appreciate your
feedback and will consider your comments as we revise our tax products.
Ordering forms and publications.
Visit
www.irs.gov/formspubs to download forms and publications, call 1-800-829-3676, or write to the address below and receive a response
within 10 business days after your request is received.
National Distribution Center
P.O. Box 8903
Bloomington, IL 61702-8903
Tax questions.
If you have a tax question, visit
www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040. We cannot answer tax questions sent to
either of the above addresses.
Nonresident Aliens.
Nonresident alien employees, before completing Form W-4, should see the instructions for Form 8233, Exemption from
Withholding on Compensation for
Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual.
