When there are two full-time incomes, it's common for the combined amount to be in a higher tax bracket than either job is individually.
Each employer only knows what they pay to you. So, unless you tell them otherwise on your W-4, your employer is going to assume that your income from them is your only income, that you will take the full standard deduction, and that there are no adjustments to income or dependents.
If you have two jobs -- whether you individually or each spouse on a return has a job -- then every employer is going to make the same assumptions. This means that, overall, you will be under-withheld because each employer will reduce your taxable wages by the full standard deduction.
The best way to fill out the current version of the W-4 is to use the TurboTax W-4 Calculator or the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. Both of these tools will ask you for information from your most recent pay stubs (to get year-to-date information) as well as what you expect to happen with your paychecks for the rest of the year.
You'll enter information for all jobs that you have (or have had) during 2024, the number of dependents that you have, whether you have any other income or deductions, etc. Then the programs will provide you with the information necessary to fill out the W-4s for each job -- or even a PDF version that you can give to your employer.
Make sure to check for the equivalent of a W-4 form for your state or local withholdings as well. Those are often separate forms with their own instructions. For local taxes in particular, there may not be withholding options for you to set. But make sure that your employers know which city/county you LIVE in and which city/county you WORK in. Your residency status can make a difference as to whether you owe county/city/school taxes.
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-- KimberW
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