How do I get more money on my W-4? The new form is confusing and Workday is making it worse!

I'm trying to increase my take-home pay for a few pay periods by adjusting my W-4, but I'm completely lost with this new form. With the old W-4, it was simple - you could just claim a bunch of allowances temporarily then switch back to normal. I tried messing with the new form through my company's Workday system and somehow ended up with EVEN LESS money in my paycheck! What the heck?? I just need to get my full paycheck for a couple weeks to cover some unexpected expenses, then I'll switch it back. Can someone please explain how to do this with the new W-4 format? Workday makes it even more confusing because I can't see the actual IRS form - just their weird interface for entering the information. I'm seriously frustrated right now!

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19 comments

Cole Roush

•8M

The new W-4 form is definitely more complex than the old one! Instead of claiming allowances, the redesigned form now focuses on actual dollar amounts. To temporarily increase your take-home pay, you have a few options: You can increase the amount in Step 4(b) "Deductions" - this is where you'd put additional deductions beyond the standard deduction. Adding an amount here tells your employer to withhold less tax. Just be careful not to claim more than you'll actually qualify for when filing. Another approach is using Step 4(c) "Extra withholding" - but entering a NEGATIVE number (if Workday allows this). However, this isn't technically proper per IRS rules. The most straightforward option is claiming "Exempt" from withholding in Step 4, but you'd need to meet specific requirements where you had no tax liability last year and expect none this year.

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Cole Roush

•8M

It really depends on your income level and tax bracket. As a rough estimate, if you're in the 22% tax bracket, adding $10,000 in the deductions box would reduce withholding by about $2,200 annually, or roughly $85 per biweekly paycheck. For a more dramatic temporary increase, you could enter a larger amount, but remember this is just deferring your tax obligation, not eliminating it. If you're trying to get close to your full gross amount, you might need to estimate your annual income and then put nearly that entire amount in the deductions box, which would effectively tell your employer you expect to have almost no taxable income. But be very cautious with this approach and remember to change it back quickly.

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Arnav Bengali

•8M

After struggling with the exact same issue, I found a solution through taxr.ai that really helped me understand these confusing W-4 changes. I was so frustrated trying to figure out how to adjust my withholdings through Workday (which my company also uses). The site https://taxr.ai walked me through exactly how the new form works and showed me what fields to modify in Workday to get the results I wanted. It even calculated exactly what numbers to put in each field based on my specific situation and how much extra I wanted in my paycheck.

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Arnav Bengali

•8M

Yes, it specifically addresses how to navigate company portals like Workday, ADP, and others! It shows side-by-side comparisons of the actual IRS form fields versus what you see in the portal and explains which fields correspond to each other. That was exactly what I needed because the Workday labels are completely different from the actual W-4 terminology. It has both free and premium options. The basic guidance is available without paying anything, which might be enough if you just need general direction. I ended up using the more detailed version because my situation was complicated with multiple jobs.

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Rachel Tao

•8M

Just wanted to update - I tried the taxr.ai tool that was mentioned and it actually worked perfectly! It showed me exactly which fields in Workday matched up with the W-4 form and calculated exactly what to enter to get an extra $350 in my next paycheck. The interface was super clear about what I was doing and warned me about potential underpayment penalties if I didn't switch it back after a few paychecks. Already changed my withholding and my HR department confirmed it'll take effect next pay period!

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Derek Olson

•8M

If you're having trouble getting your withholding right and end up owing a lot at tax time, you might also want to know about Claimyr for when you inevitably need to talk to the IRS. I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to the IRS last year after messing up my withholding and getting hit with penalties. Finally found https://claimyr.com and they got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 45 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - totally changed my experience with resolving tax issues.

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Derek Olson

•8M

It doesn't call the IRS for you - it uses a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold in your place. When an actual agent picks up, it calls your phone and connects you directly to that live agent. So instead of you waiting on hold for hours, their system does the waiting. I was super skeptical too! I thought it was either a scam or just wouldn't work. But I was desperate after spending literally 10+ hours on hold across multiple days. The difference is they have technology that can stay on hold indefinitely and recognize when a human picks up. I was connected to an actual IRS representative in about 40 minutes when I had been unable to get through for days on my own.

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Anna Kerber

•8M

The IRS doesn't get notified of your W-4 changes when you make them - they only see the final amount that was withheld when your employer files their reports. Your employer might raise an eyebrow at a very large deduction claim, but they're not required to verify your W-4 information. The real risk comes at tax time. If you significantly underwithhold throughout the year, you could face underpayment penalties. Generally, you need to have paid at least 90% of your current year tax or 100% of last year's tax (110% if you're a higher income earner) through withholding to avoid penalties. For a temporary change of just a few pay periods, the impact will likely be minimal, but it's something to be aware of.

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Statiia Aarssizan

•5M

I completely understand your frustration with the new W-4 form! I went through the exact same thing last year and felt like I needed a degree in tax law just to adjust my withholding. Here's what worked for me: The quickest way to increase your take-home pay temporarily is to use Step 4(b) "Other Deductions." In Workday, this might be labeled as "Additional Deductions" or something similar. You can enter a dollar amount here that reduces your taxable income for withholding purposes. A rough rule of thumb: if you're in the 22% tax bracket and want an extra $200 per paycheck, you'd enter about $4,500-$5,000 in deductions (this assumes biweekly pay). The system will withhold less tax because it thinks you have more deductions coming. Just remember to change it back after a few paychecks! I set a calendar reminder because it's easy to forget. Also keep in mind you're just borrowing from your future tax refund - you'll still owe the same total tax for the year. The Workday interface is definitely confusing compared to the actual IRS form, but once you find that deductions field, it should do what you need.

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