W-4 Calculator

John Logue Updated by John Logue

The core of the W-4 Calculator program is the W-4 Calculator Tax Planner module, which...

  • Calculates income tax liability based on user entries;
  • Allocates the withholding target amount across up to four jobs;
  • Allows taxpayer to "break even," plan for a desired refund or payment, or make mid-year adjustments;
  • Prepares Form W-4 and supported state forms.

The program also includes forms and utilities, including a Paycheck Withholding Calculator to determine how much each employer should be withholding, even when a 2020 (or later) W-4 has not been submitted.

To use the W-4 Calculator, first select a client, then select the appropriate W-4 Calculator Tax Planner module. To load the module, either double-click it, or click the Load Module button.

The module opens to the Summary screen:

You can enter data into turquoise fields; data contained in the Client Profile is mapped in automatically. The active field is yellow. The yellow help panel at the bottom of the screen contains help for the active field. Click on a field with the mouse to enter data, or use the Tab key to advance through fields.

Federal and state tax OVERRIDE fields allow you to bypass most of the other fields if the total federal and/or state tax liability is known:

You cannot enter data into green fields; they are calculated for you. Green fields marked with an asterisk (*) have associated Detail screens, into which you can enter data. To access a Detail screen: when the field is active, either double-click the field, press Alt+D, or click Detail on the menu bar.

The Wages detail screen allows you to enter data for up to four jobs for either spouse:

To proceed to the next detail screen, click Next or press the Page Down key:

When you have finished entering detail data, click Summary to return to the Summary screen:

Near the bottom of the Summary screen, you will find calculated federal and state WITHHOLDING TARGETS. There are also fields where you can enter federal and state Desired Refunds.

Compare Total Withholding to Total Withholding Target. If withholding is considerably less than Target, consider changing W-4 Line Option (or Estimated Payments).

Instructions at the bottom of the Summary screen indicate how forms should be filled out for each job:

Use the buttons on the menu bar to auto-fill forms with this data.

Both federal and state forms have Restore/Override buttons that allow you to override calculations to enter your own data, and restore to the calculated results:

Buttons on the toolbar allow you to view W-4s for other jobs and state form(s).

The Print button gives several options for printing forms, worksheets, etc.

Click Save to save file in client folder.

For more information, please see the program's Help file.

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