How to Fill Out a W-4 for a Student Summer Job

Form W-4, the Employee’s Withholding Certificate, is a document your new employer will ask you to complete. This form tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold from your paychecks. Filling it out correctly helps ensure you do not have too much or too little tax withheld, which affects your finances when you file your annual tax return. For a student working a summer job, understanding a few key details makes this process straightforward.

Information and Decisions Needed Before You Start

Before you begin filling out Form W-4, you need to gather some personal details and make two decisions. You will need your full name as it appears on your Social Security card, your permanent home address, and your Social Security Number. This information is necessary for your employer to report your earnings and tax withholdings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) correctly.

The first decision involves your tax filing status. For nearly all unmarried students, the correct box to check in Step 1(c) is “Single.” This status is used for individual tax filers who are not married.

The second decision is determining your dependency status. If your parents or another individual provides more than half of your financial support and can claim you as a dependent on their tax return, you cannot claim yourself. You are a qualifying child if you are under age 19, or a full-time student under age 24, and live with the supporting person for more than half the year. Understanding this is important because it directly impacts how you will complete later steps.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Completing Form W-4

With your personal information and key decisions ready, you can fill out the form. For a student with a single summer job, the process is often simple and involves only a few of the available steps.

You will begin with Step 1, where you enter your name, address, Social Security Number, and select your filing status. Based on the decision made earlier, you will check the “Single” box. Most students in this situation can then move toward the end of the form.

Step 2 is for individuals who have multiple jobs or whose spouse also works. If your summer position is your only source of employment, you can skip this section. Step 3 is for claiming dependents and should be left blank if you have determined that someone else will claim you as a dependent. You cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else and also claim dependents yourself.

Step 4 allows for other adjustments, such as other income, deductions, or extra withholding. For a student with a straightforward summer job, this section will likely be left blank. The final action is to complete Step 5, where you sign and date the form. Your signature certifies that the information you have provided is correct, making the document official for your employer’s payroll purposes.

Claiming Exemption From Withholding

Some students may qualify to be exempt from having federal income tax withheld from their paychecks. To do this, you must meet two conditions set by the IRS. First, you must have had no federal income tax liability in the previous tax year. Second, you must expect to have no federal income tax liability in the current year.

Whether you expect to have a tax liability depends on your total income for the year. If your total earnings from the summer job will be less than the annual standard deduction for a single filer, you likely will not owe federal income tax. For example, if the standard deduction is $15,000 and you earn $5,000, your income falls below the threshold that would require you to pay federal income tax.

If you meet both requirements, you can claim an exemption. To do this, complete Step 1 with your personal information and then write “Exempt” in the space below Step 4(c). When you claim this status, you do not complete Steps 2, 3, or 4. After writing “Exempt,” proceed to Step 5 to sign and date the form.

The consequence of claiming this exemption is that your employer will not withhold any federal income tax from your pay. This means your take-home pay will be higher throughout the summer. It is important to note that this does not exempt you from Social Security and Medicare taxes, which will still be withheld.