INSTRUCTIONS — 1 — ALLOWANCES*
MARRIED BUT NOT LIVING WITH YOUR SPOUSE: You may
check the “Head of Household” marital status box if you meet all
When determining your withholding allowances, you must consider
of the following tests:
your personal situation:
(1) Your spouse will not live with you at any time during the
— Do you claim allowances for dependents or blindness?
year;
— Are you going to itemize your deductions?
(2) You will furnish over half of the cost of maintaining a home
— Do you have more than one income coming into the household?
for the entire year for yourself and your child or stepchild
who qualifies as your dependent; and
TWO-EARNER/TWO-JOBS: When earnings are derived from
(3) You will file a separate return for the year.
more than one source, underwithholding may occur. If you have
HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: To qualify, you must be unmarried or
a working spouse or more than one job, it is best to check the box
legally separated from your spouse and pay more than 50% of
“SINGLE or MARRIED (with two or more incomes).” Figure the
total number of allowances you are entitled to claim on all jobs
the costs of maintaining a home for the entire year for yourself
and your dependent(s) or other qualifying individuals. Cost of
using only one DE 4 form. Claim allowances with one employer.
Do not claim the same allowances with more than one employer.
maintaining the home includes such items as rent, property
insurance, property taxes, mortgage interest, repairs, utilities,
Your withholding will usually be most accurate when all allowances
and cost of food. It does not include the individual’s personal
are claimed on the DE 4 or W-4 filed for the highest paying job and
expenses or any amount which represents value of services
zero allowances are claimed for the others.
performed by a member of the household of the taxpayer.
WORKSHEET A
REGULAR WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(A) Allowance for yourself — enter 1
(A)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(B) Allowance for your spouse (if not separately claimed by your spouse) — enter 1
(B)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(C) Allowance for blindness — yourself — enter 1
(C)
. . . . . . .
(D) Allowance for blindness — your spouse (if not separately claimed by your spouse) — enter 1
(D)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(E) Allowance(s) for dependent(s) — do not include yourself or your spouse
(E)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(F) Total — add lines (A) through (E) above
(F)
INSTRUCTIONS — 2 — ADDITIONAL WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCES
If you expect to itemize deductions on your California income tax return, you can claim additional withholding allowances. Use Worksheet B
to determine whether your expected estimated deductions may entitle you to claim one or more additional withholding allowances. Use last
year’s FTB 540 form as a model to calculate this year’s withholding amounts.
Do not include deferred compensation, qualified pension payments or flexible benefits, etc., that are deducted from your gross pay but are
not taxed on this worksheet.
You may reduce the amount of tax withheld from your wages by claiming one additional withholding allowance for each $1,000, or fraction of
$1,000, by which you expect your estimated deductions for the year to exceed your allowable standard deduction.
WORKSHEET B
ESTIMATED DEDUCTIONS
1. Enter an estimate of your itemized deductions for California taxes for this tax year as listed in the
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
schedules in the FTB 540 form
1. _______________________
2. Enter $7,274 if married filing joint with two or more allowances, unmarried head of household, or
qualifying widow(er) with dependent(s) or $3,637 if single or married filing separately, dual income
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
married, or married with multiple employers
-
2. _______________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Subtract line 2 from line 1, enter difference
=
3. _______________________
. . . . . . . . . . .
4. Enter an estimate of your adjustments to income (alimony payments, IRA deposits)
+
4. _______________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Add line 4 to line 3, enter sum
=
5. _______________________
. . . . . . . .
6. Enter an estimate of your nonwage income (dividends, interest income, alimony receipts)
-
6. _______________________
7. If line 5 is greater than line 6 (if less, see below);
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Subtract line 6 from line 5, enter difference
=
7. _______________________
. . . . . . . . .
8. Divide the amount on line 7 by $1,000, round any fraction to the nearest whole number
8. _______________________
Enter this number on line 1 of the DE 4. Complete Worksheet C, if needed.
9. If line 6 is greater than line 5;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enter amount from line 6 (nonwage income)
9. _______________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10. Enter amount from line 5 (deductions)
10. _______________________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11. Subtract line 10 from line 9, enter difference
11. _______________________
Complete Worksheet C
*Wages paid to registered domestic partners will be treated the same for state income tax purposes as wages paid to spouses for California personal
income tax (PIT) withholding and PIT wages. This new law does not impact federal income tax law. A registered domestic partner means an individual
partner in a domestic partner relationship within the meaning of Section 297 of the Family Code. For more information, please call our Taxpayer
Assistance Center at 1-888-745-3886.
DE 4 Rev. 37 (1-10) (INTERNET)
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