View and update Form W-4 (withholding elections)

1. Sign in to your Gusto employee account.
2. Go to the Documents section.
3. On the "Form W-4" line, click Sign Document.

Head to the Documents section of your Gusto account to view your W-4(s).

Calculate your new Federal tax withholdings

1. Gather your most recent paystub (and your spouse’s, if you’re filing jointly), your most recent tax return, and info for any other sources of income. 
2. Calculate your new withholdings by using the IRS withholding calculator or filling out the W-4 worksheet by hand. 

For more help calculating your withholdings, check out our blog for step-by-step info or read the IRS FAQs. For personal tax advice, consult a CPA or licensed tax advisor.

Enter the new Federal withholding in Gusto 

1. Sign in to Gusto. 
2. Go to the Job & Pay section.
3. Scroll to "Federal taxes” and click edit.
4. Enter your federal filing status.
   • If you choose "Exempt from withholding," Gusto won't withhold federal income tax from your wages. All taxable wages will still be reported on your W-2.
     • You’ll also be required to sign a new Federal W-4 every year by February 15 confirming that you’re exempt from federal withholding tax.
5. Fill in the additional fields if applicable.
   • For guidance on how to withhold according to your exact situation, use your results from the IRS withholding calculator or refer to the instructions on the W-4 worksheet.
6. Click Save.
7. Click Sign Document and sign your new W-4 form.
   • You can also review and sign this form later in your Documents section. 

Your changes will take effect the next time your employer runs payroll. On or after the check date, view your paystub and review your withholdings under “Employee Taxes Withheld.” 

Recertify your tax exemption status each year

1. Sign in to your Gusto employee profile before February 15 of each new calendar year. 
2. Go to the Job & Pay section.
3. Scroll to the "Federal taxes" section and click edit.
4. Confirm your current filing status.

• If you continue to select "Do Not Withhold," Gusto won’t withhold federal income tax from your wages. All taxable wages will still be reported on your W-2.

Fill out the remaining fields.

Click Save.

Click Sign Document and sign your new W-4 form.

Change your state tax withholdings 

1. Sign in to Gusto. 
2. Go to the Job & Pay section.
3. Scroll to the "State taxes" section and click edit.
4. Enter your state filing status.
   • If you choose "Do Not Withhold," Gusto won’t withhold state income tax from your wages. All taxable wages will still be reported on your W-2.
5. Fill out the remaining fields.
6. Click Save.

Your changes will take effect the next time your employer runs payroll. On or after the check date, view your paystub and review your withholdings under “Employee Taxes Withheld.” 

Some of the information that appears on your W-4 comes from other details entered in Gusto—employees can update some of these details, while admins will need to update others. 

Check out the articles below to see if you, or your admin, can make the update(s):

• Personal details that can be updated by you, the employee.
• Details your admin will need to update on your behalf.

1. Sign in to your admin account.
2. Click the People section and select Team members. 
3. Click the employee's name.
4. Click the Documents tab.
5. Click Form W-4.

A W-4 package with all employee Form W-4s can only be generated once per day. Depending on file size, it could take a while for your .zip file to be created. 

1. Sign in to your admin account.
2. Click the Company section and select Documents. 
3. Click the Bulk I-9 and W-4 form packages tab.
4. On the W-4 row, click Generate.
   
   • These packages do not update automatically, so we recommend you "generate" before downloading to ensure current employee information is included in your download.
5. Wait for the W-4 package to generate. 
   • If you try to download a new package while the other is still generating, you will download the old file.
6. Click Download—this will always download the last fully generated file.

The download shouldn’t take long. However, if your company has a large number of employees, check back in about 5 minutes to see if your .zip file is ready for download.

• Print or save all original W-4s once employee onboarding is complete.
  • If your employee didn't complete their Gusto setup themselves, print the form and have your employee physically sign the document.
  • Save the original forms promptly — if an employee updates their withholdings without your knowledge and you haven't saved the original, the original will be lost. 
• Store the original W-4s manually or upload them back into Gusto.

1. Sign in to Gusto. 
2. Head to the employee's profile.
3. Go to the Job & Pay section.
4. Scroll to "Federal taxes” section and click edit.
5. In Step 1(c), update their federal filing status to Single or Married Filing Separately.  
6. Leave the remaining entries as $0.00 in Step 2,  Step 3, and Step 4 of the Form W-4.
7. Click Save.

You can add or update an employee's withholding elections by following the steps below:

1. Sign in to your admin profile in Gusto.
2. Head to the People section and select Team members.
3. Find and click the employee's profile.
4. From the Job & pay tab, scroll to the "Federal Taxes" or "[State] Taxes" headline and click edit.
5. Make the necessary edits, and click Save.