View and update Form W-4 (withholding elections)

1. Sign in to your Gusto employee account.
2. Go to the Documents section.
   
   • If you're onboarding still, you'll need to enter your federal tax details for the W-4 in the Job & Pay section, under the "Federal Taxes" headline, before a form (and Documents section) is created for you to sign in your account. 
3. On the "Form W-4" line, click Sign Document.

1. Sign in to your Gusto employee account.
2. Head to the Documents section.
   • If you're onboarding still, you'll need to enter your federal tax details for the W-4 in the Job & Pay section, under the "Federal Taxes" headline, before a form (and Documents section) is created for you to sign in your account. 
3. Look for Form W-4 and select it.

Update your federal tax withholding elections

For personal tax advice, consult a CPA or licensed tax advisor—we cannot advise on your personal W-4 elections. If needed, additional resources can be found below the instructions. 

1. Sign in to your employee account.
2. Go to the Job & Pay section.
3. Scroll to "Federal Taxes” and click edit.
   • The selections you’ll make correspond to the IRS’s Form W-4.
4. Box 1(c)–Enter your federal filing status, this is the only required field.
   • More information about the “Head of household” option can be found by clicking the question mark icon on this IRS page (next to the question itself).
   • If you select “Exempt from withholding”, we won't withhold federal income taxes, but we'll still report taxable wages on a W-2.
     • Keep in mind: Anyone who claims exemption from withholding needs to sign a new W-4 (or update their withholding in Gusto) by Feb 15 of each year—more information below.
5. Complete the optional next sections only if they apply to you—otherwise, skip these.
   • Box 2(c)–Multiple job: Answering this results in higher withholding, but to preserve privacy, this can be left unchecked.
   • Box 3–Dependent total: If your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less if married filing jointly), add the amounts below and enter the total in Gusto.
     • Multiply the number of qualifying children under age 17 by $2,000;
     • Multiply the number of other dependents by $500.
   • Box 4(a)–Other income, not from jobs: If you want tax withheld for other income you expect this year that won’t have withholding, enter the amount of other income here. This may include interest, dividends, and retirement income.
   • Box 4(b)–Deductions: If you expect to claim deductions other than the standard deduction and want to reduce your withholding, use the "Deductions Worksheet" on page 3 of the W-4 instructions and enter the result in Gusto.
   • Box 4(c)–Extra withholding: Enter any additional tax you want withheld each pay period.
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 withholding under “Employee Taxes Withheld.” 

Related resources

• Form W-4 and the Form W-4 worksheet
• IRS W-4 FAQs
• IRS tax withholding estimator
• IRS withholding assistant
• Gusto’s blog on how to fill out the 2022 W-4

Re-certify your federal tax exemption status each year by February 15

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.
5. Fill out the remaining fields.
6. Click Save.
7. Click Sign Document and sign your new W-4 form.

Update your state tax withholding elections 

1. Sign in to Gusto. 
2. Go to the Job & Pay section.
3. Scroll to the applicable "[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 withholding 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.