This article is for employees and admins who work with Form W-4 tax withholding elections.
Employees can learn how to sign, view, and update their Form W-4 (tax elections) in Gusto. Admins can learn how to view, store, and keep past W-4s to stay compliant.
Expand the section below that matches your role, or use CMD + F (or CTRL + F) to search for keywords throughout the article.
Withholding is the income tax your employer takes out of each paycheck. The amount withheld depends on two main things:
How much you earn
We use your work and home address to calculate your earnings.
You can update your home address in Gusto. Only your employer can update your work address if it changes or is incorrect.
What you report on Form W-4
The information you give your employer on your W-4 tells them how much federal income tax to withhold.
If you’re a minister or clergy, see this article for details on possible tax exemptions.
For personal tax advice, always work with a CPA or licensed tax advisor. We cannot advise you on your W-4 elections. For step-by-step guidance and more resources, see the Update your federal or state tax withholding elections section.
Learn where in Gusto you can manage your W-4 information.
Find W-4 information in the Gusto mobile app
Open the Gusto mobile app.
In the bottom-right corner, select More.
Select Documents.
Choose Employee Documents.
Select Form W-4.
If you need to edit your tax elections, go to “Update your federal or state tax withholding elections” below.
Find W-4 information in your web browser
Go to Documents.
Select Form W-4.
You need to sign your Form W-4 to tell your employer how much tax to withhold from your paychecks.
To sign your federal or state Form W-4 in Gusto:
Sign in to your Gusto employee account.
If you’re using the Gusto mobile app, you can view, edit, and sign your W-4 using these mobile app instructions.
Go to Documents.
If you’re still onboarding, you need to enter your federal tax details before we create your Form W-4 for you to sign:
Go to My profile.
Click Taxes.
In the Federal card, click Edit.
Find Form W-4, and under the Actions column, click Sign.
You can also click the name of the form to e-sign.
Type your full name and check the box to sign electronically.
Click Sign.
You can view your signed W-4 forms at any time to check your withholding information.
To view your federal or state Form W-4 in Gusto:
Sign in to your Gusto employee account.
If you’re using the Gusto mobile app, you can view, edit, and sign your W-4 using these mobile app instructions.
Go to Documents.
If you’re still onboarding, you need to enter your federal tax details before we create your Form W-4:
Go to My profile.
Go to Taxes.
In the Federal card, click Edit.
Once the form is available in your Documents, find Form W-4 and select it.
For personal tax advice, consult a certified public accountant (CPA) or licensed tax advisor—we cannot advise on your personal W-4 elections.
Click My profile.
Under Additional, click Taxes.
Under Federal, click Edit.
The selections you make correspond to the IRS’s Form W-4.
Box 1(c)–Enter your federal filing status, this is the only required field.
More information about Head of household can be found by clicking the question mark icon on this IRS page (next to the question about your filing status).
If you select “Exempt from withholding”, we will not withhold federal income taxes, but we'll still report taxable wages on a W-2. 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.
Complete the optional next sections only if they apply to you—otherwise, skip them.
Box 2(c)–Multiple jobs: 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 will not 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.
(Starts in 2026) Step 4(b): Overtime & Tips: You may deduct eligible overtime premium pay and voluntary tips. How to do it:
Estimate your yearly overtime premium pay + voluntary tips.
Complete the W-4 Deductions Worksheet carefully.
Step 4(b), Line 1a - Qualified Tips:
Employees cannot claim a deduction for tips for Tax Year 2026 if their employer is a Specified Service Trade or Business (SSTB). Employees of SSTBs are not eligible for the new tip deduction. Check with your employer to see if they are an SSTB prior to adding any tax deductions for your tips
Confirm that your tips qualify. To be considered “qualified tips” under this law, the tips must:
Be voluntarily given by your customers or clients
Have no penalty or consequence for non-payment
Be set by the customer, not the business
Come from work in an approved tipped occupation (see the Treasury’s list here)
Step 4(b), Line 1b - Qualified Overtime Compensation:
Do not enter all overtime pay, or you may underpay your taxes. The overtime deduction only applies to the premium portion of overtime pay - the "and-a-half" part of time-and-a-half compensation.
Example:
Regular rate: $20/hour
Overtime premium rate (just the half-portion of time-and-a-half): $20 X 0.5 = $10/hour
Estimated number of overtime hours to be worked in the next year: 33
Overtime premium rate times estimated overtime hours: $10 X 33 = $330.00
Enter $330.00 in Step 4(b) 1b (subject to limits - read IRS instructions carefully)
Complete the other steps of the worksheet.
Enter the total from Line 15 of the worksheet in Step 4(b) of your W-4 in Gusto.
Result: Less tax withheld from each paycheck (more take-home now).
Need help? Ask a CPA or licensed tax advisor about which amounts qualify.
Box 4(c)–Extra withholding: Enter any additional tax you want to withhold each pay period.
Click Save.
Click Sign Document and sign your new W-4 form. You can also review and sign this form later under Documents.
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.
Sign in to your account on the mobile app¹.
In the top-right corner, select the You icon.
Select Tax elections.
Click Edit for the sections that need to be updated.
Click Save.
Click Sign Document and sign your new W-4 form. You can also review and sign this form later under Documents.
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.
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Related resources
To re-certify your federal tax exemption status each year by February 15:
Sign in to Gusto before Feb 15 of each new calendar year.
Click My profile.
Under Additional, click Taxes.
Under Federal, click Edit.
Confirm your current filing status.
If you continue to select "Do Not Withhold", we will not 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.
Click My profile.
Under Additional, click Taxes.
Find your state and click Edit.
Enter your state filing status.
If you choose "Do Not Withhold" (or in some state-specific cases, "Yes, you're exempt from withholding") we will not withhold state income tax from your wages. All taxable wages will still be reported on your W-2.
Fill out the rest of the fields.
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.
Your W-4 shows information from other details you or your admin entered in Gusto. You can update some details yourself. Your admin needs to update other details for you.
Check out the articles below to see who can make the update:
Personal details you can update yourself
You need admin permissions to access and manage employee W-4 forms.
We only store the most recent version of each employee’s Federal W-4. If an employee updates their personal details or withholding info, we automatically update the W-4 and ask the employee to sign it. We do not store older versions.
Employers must follow IRS, state, and local rules to stay compliant:
Keep originals: You must keep original signed Federal Form W-4s for 4 years in case the IRS asks to review them.
Reconfirm exemptions each year: By February 15, you must confirm the exemption status of any employee who claimed exempt from federal income tax withholding on their W-4.
If the employee does not give you a new W-4 by February 15, you must withhold federal income tax based on IRS default rules. Follow the steps in the Update withholding when the exemption status is not confirmed section.
State and local W-4s: For state income tax and some local agencies, employees must physically sign the state or local W-4 form. You must keep this signed copy for your records.
(Starting in 2026) As a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill that passed in 2025, your employees may need your help before they update their 2026 federal Form W-4. As an employer, you cannot give tax advice to your employees; however, they do need to know if they meet the requirements to deduct qualified tips on their W-4.
Employees cannot claim a deduction for tips for Tax Year 2026 if their employer is a Specified Service Trade or Business (SSTB). Employees of SSTBs are not eligible for the new tip deduction. You can check the IRS list of SSTBs here. If you’re not sure whether you’re an SSTB, talk with a tax advisor or find one in Gusto’s Partner Directory.
Confirm that your employee’s tips qualify. To be considered “qualified tips” under this law, the tips that you record as tips in Gusto must:
Be voluntarily given by your customers or clients
Have no penalty or consequence for non-payment
Be set by the customer, not your business
Come from work in an approved tipped occupation (see the Treasury’s list here)
If an employee changes their state or local withholding elections:
Have them physically re-sign the state or local W-4 form and store it in your records.
Ask them to update their elections in Gusto by following the steps in the Update your federal or state tax withholding elections section.
You can view any employee’s W-4 to check their withholding elections and verify they signed the form.
To view a team member’s Form W-4 in Gusto:
Go to People.
Click the employee’s name.
Under Additional, click Documents.
Click View next to Form W-4.
You can download a package with all your employees’ Form W-4s as a .zip file. You can only do this once per day.
Depending on the file size, your .zip file may take some time to create.
To download all Form W-4s in Gusto:
Go to Documents.
Under Team, click Bulk downloads.
On the W-4 row, click Generate.
These packages do not update automatically, so we recommend clicking Generate before downloading to make sure your download includes the most current employee information.
Wait for the W-4 package to generate.
If you try to download a new package while the other is still being generated, you will download the old file.
Click Download — this will always download the last fully generated file.
The download usually finishes quickly. However, if your company has many employees, check back in about 5 minutes to see if your .zip file is ready.
You must keep original Federal Form W-4s for each employee for 4 years. The IRS may ask to review them.
Save W-4s after onboarding
Once an employee has finished onboarding, print or save their original W-4 right away. If an employee updates their withholdings and you have not stored the original, you will lose access to it.
If the employee did not complete their Gusto setup themselves, print the form and have them sign it in person.
Store the original W-4s manually or upload them back into Gusto.
Use these steps to enter tax details if an employee does not provide a new W-4 to confirm their exemption status.
To enter their tax details:
Go to People.
Find the employee and click their name.
Under Additional, click Taxes.
Scroll to the Federal section and click Edit.
In Step (1c), update their federal filing status to Single or Married filing separately.
Leave Step (2c) as is.
Make sure Steps 3, (4a), (4b), and (4c) of the Form W-4 show $0.00.
Click Save.
You can add or update an employee’s withholding elections in Gusto.
To enter W-4 information for an employee:
Go to People.
Find and click the employee’s profile.
Under Additional, click Taxes.
Scroll to the Federal or [State] section and click Edit.
Edit the details.
Click Save.
W-4 changes will take effect on the next payroll run.
Q: How do I figure out the dollar amount to enter for dependents (Box 3 Dependent total)?
A: If your total income will be $200,000 or less ($400,000 or less if married filing jointly), follow these steps 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.
Add both amounts together and enter the total.
If you do not expect to claim any dependent tax credit, enter 0 or leave it blank.