Which withholding rate should I choose as head of household, and why doesn't the IRS have a W-4 option for head of household?

[mharing77]

Withhold at "single" or "married" rate on the federal W-4.  This is problematic because if I select "single", I grossly overpay state and federal.   If I select "Married", I somehow get federal just right, but underpay state by about $800!  Which filing status is optimal for head of household, and why doesn't the IRS have a W-4 option for head of household?

[SweetieJean]

Are you in California?  Its HOH definition is different than that for Federal.  Most states have their own verison of W-4 that you can use just for state withholding.

[Critter]

Why because they don't ... so what you need to do is choose single and add allowances on line 5 of the W-4 form until the withholding is the way you want it ... look at the Pub 15 charts starting about page 45 so you can see what each allowance will withhold per pay period.  

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf

[SweetieJean]

See Line E (HOH) here:

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf