Tax Tips Common Tax Mistakes, Not updating your Form W-4 Read the Article Open Share Drawer Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Written by TurboTaxBlogTeam Published Dec 18, 2006 - [Updated Jul 22, 2019] 1 min read The purpose of the form W-4 as stated on the IRS instructions is so your employer can withhold the correct federal income tax from your pay. What many people forget is that you should review and possibly update this when you get a promotion or have a life changing event such as a birth, death, marriage or divorce. All of these things can affect how much money you should be withholding from your paycheck to avoid a nasty surprise at the end of the year. Also be sure to review your state withholdings. Your state may take out taxes as a percentage of the federal withholding. If it is a percentage, you may want to increase it or decrease it to balance changes you made to the federal. You can download the W-4 here:http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf Your HR department website may also have a link for you. I would check there first for the state form. There are many paycheck calculators out there to help you with this, including these:http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96196,00.html http://www.paycheckcity.com/w4/w4instruction.asp We have one on our site with some other calculators as well on our Tax Tips site:http://turbotax.intuit.com/tax_help/index.jhtml Previous Post Avoiding Identity Theft from Phishing Scams Next Post 401(k) Plans Written by TurboTaxBlogTeam More from TurboTaxBlogTeam Leave a ReplyCancel reply Browse Related Articles Tax News 4 Key Things You Need to Know About the New 2020 IRS Fo… Taxes 101 Can I File Exempt & Still Get a Tax Refund? Tax Tips How to Adjust Your Withholding Tax Reform Understanding Your Withholding Allowance on Your Form W… Tax Refunds Why Is My Tax Refund Lower Than Expected? Taxes 101 How to Adjust Your Tax Withholding for the New Year Tax Tips Summertime – Gambling – the IRS? Tax Planning 5 Tips for Adjusting Withholding Allowances with Your E… Income and Investments Gambling Winnings Taxes: An Intro Guide Life Overpaid Tax: Why It Matters to You