Filing Status

Filing status is the category you file your federal tax return under. There are five: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household and qualifying surviving spouse. It sets your standard deduction and how wide each tax bracket is.

The W-4 offers three choices in Step 1(c): single or married filing separately, married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, and head of household. Married filing jointly gets the widest brackets and the largest standard deduction, so it withholds the least on the same pay.

Head of household is for unmarried people who pay more than half the cost of a home for a qualifying person, usually a child. If both spouses work, check the Step 2 box or use the IRS estimator, or the household may be under-withheld. The W-4 guide covers married couples, and the paycheck calculator lets you switch status to compare.