It depends. The payroll company must use the W-4 you provide and you can change it as many times as you need to each year. They must accept each new form if you make a change.
There are general guidelines to keep in mind when completing your W-4 for each employer. First, if you know your income will be subject to income tax without any additional income from a spouse, then if you do have a spouse, every dollar your spouse makes will be subject to tax at your highest tax bracket. The link below will show you the rates based on your taxable income amount. The following link may be helpful. Make sure to read the paragraphs below before you begin.
If you see that the income from your spouse will put you in a particular tax bracket, you can choose to add an extra withholding amount to be taken from either your check or your spouse's check each pay day using Step 4, line 4(c), Form W-4.
- To calculate the amount, use the pay from your spouse (estimated for the year), multiply it by the tax rate based on your combined income from the chart, then divide that by the number of your total number of pay periods remaining for the year. Enter the amount on your W-4, or your spouse's W-4 (not both). This will be used to calculate the full amount of federal withholding for each pay check.
- Use this same formula for your secondary job once you calculate the full tax on that income next.
If you do not have a spouse, check the withholding you had for 2023 on your W-2, add the amount of balance due, subtract what you have had withheld year to date, then divide that by the number of pay periods you have left in 2024. Enter that additional amount in Step 4, line 4(c), Form W-4. You can add a few dollars if you like to be closer to the 2024 tax.
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