How to change my withholdings from 2 to 1 on the new W4 form

Thanks for explaining this, but I'm still a bit confused. So there's no way to just say "withhold as if I'm claiming 1 allowance" anymore? Do I have to use the calculator every time I want to make an adjustment? What if I just want a simple change?

There's no direct equivalent to the old "claim 1 allowance" on the new form. The redesigned W4 was specifically created to move away from the allowances system which many people found confusing. If you want a simple adjustment without using the calculator, you could use Step 4(c) to add a specific dollar amount of additional withholding per paycheck. For example, if you want roughly the equivalent of changing from 2 to 1 on the old system, you might add about $40-50 extra withholding per paycheck. This is a rough estimate though - the calculator will give you a more precise number based on your specific situation with the salary jump.

Does this actually work? I'm having the same issue with a promotion but I'm worried about putting my paystub info into some random website. Is it secure?

How much does it cost? I've been burned before by "free" tax tools that ask for payment halfway through.

It absolutely works! The site uses bank-level encryption, and they don't store your paystub data after the analysis is complete. I was hesitant at first too, but my friend in IT checked it out and said their security looks solid. The basic withholding calculator is completely free. They do have some premium features for more complex tax situations, but the W4 assistance I used didn't require any payment. You can get the withholding recommendation without any surprise charges.

Wait, so it's just a service that waits on hold for you? How does that even work? Seems like it would be easier to just call the IRS yourself and wait.

This sounds like a scam. No way the IRS would recommend some third-party service, and I doubt they can actually get you through faster than anyone else. Probably just takes your money and gives you the same wait time.

It's not a service that gets you through faster - it just waits on hold so you don't have to. The way it works is they call the IRS, navigate through all the automated menus, and then wait in the queue. When an agent is about to pick up, they call your phone and connect you. It's like having someone else sit on hold for you. They don't claim to have any special connection to the IRS or shorter wait times. The value is just that you don't have to listen to hold music for 2+ hours. I was able to go about my day and then take the call when an agent was actually available. Trust me, I was skeptical too, but when you've been disconnected after waiting 90+ minutes multiple times, it's worth it.

I tried that approach but ended up way over-withheld. I think it really depends on your tax bracket and pay frequency. $50 per biweekly paycheck might be good for someone making $60k but not enough for someone making $150k. Did you do any calculations to get to that $50 number?

I didn't do any fancy calculations. I just knew that I usually got about a $1200 refund each year, and I get paid biweekly, so that's about 24 paychecks. Divided $1200 by 24 and got $50 per check. It wasn't perfect - I still got a small refund of about $200, but that's way better than the big refunds I used to get. You make a good point though - it definitely depends on your income level. For higher incomes, you'd probably want to adjust that number up accordingly.

The IRS calculator is down for maintenance half the time I try to use it. Plus it asks for a ton of information I don't always have handy, like exactly how much federal tax has been withheld year-to-date.

I've never had it down when I needed it, but maybe I've been lucky. You can find the year-to-date federal withholding on your most recent paystub - it's usually pretty obvious. I agree it asks for detailed information, but that's precisely why it gives accurate results. The few minutes it takes to gather that info saves a lot of headache at tax time. The instructions are really clear too - it tells you exactly what to enter on each line of the W4 when you're done.

This is super helpful! I'm in almost the exact same boat as the original poster - got a big promotion mid-year and was worried about overwithholding. I never knew about the Multiple Jobs Worksheet for situations like this. Quick question: when you say you got a negative amount from the calculator, roughly how much was it? I'm trying to get a ballpark sense of whether I should expect a similar result. I went from about $45k to $250k salary-wise, so pretty similar jump to what @9f4ae1ac6b63 described. Also, did you have to resubmit your W4 multiple times to get it right, or did the worksheet calculation work out accurately the first time?

@8d10885449f3 This is exactly what I needed to hear! I've been stressing about this for weeks. The negative amount thing makes total sense - if the system thinks I've been earning $280k all year when I've only been at that rate for a few months, it's definitely overwithholding. Quick follow-up question: when you used the Multiple Jobs Worksheet, did you treat your old salary as "Job 1" and your new salary as "Job 2" even though it's technically the same job? Or is there a different way to handle the salary change situation? I'm going to try the IRS calculator this weekend when I have my paystubs handy. Really appreciate you sharing your experience - it's reassuring to know someone else navigated this successfully!