Form W-4R (2024)
Page 2
General Instructions (continued)
Nonperiodic payments—10% withholding. Your payer
must withhold at a default 10% rate from the taxable amount
of nonperiodic payments unless you enter a different rate on
line 2. Distributions from an IRA that are payable on demand
are treated as nonperiodic payments. Note that the default
rate of withholding may not be appropriate for your tax
situation. You may choose to have no federal income tax
withheld by entering “-0-” on line 2. See the specific
instructions below for more information. Generally, you are
not permitted to elect to have federal income tax withheld at
a rate of less than 10% (including “-0-”) on any payments to
be delivered outside the United States and its territories.
Note: If you don’t give Form W-4R to your payer, you
don’t provide an SSN, or the IRS notifies the payer that you
gave an incorrect SSN, then the payer must withhold 10% of
the payment for federal income tax and can’t honor requests
to have a lower (or no) amount withheld. Generally, for
payments that began before 2024, your current withholding
election (or your default rate) remains in effect unless you
submit a Form W-4R.
Eligible rollover distributions—20% withholding.
Distributions you receive from qualified retirement plans (for
example, 401(k) plans and section 457(b) plans maintained
by a governmental employer) or tax-sheltered annuities that
are eligible to be rolled over to an IRA or qualified plan are
subject to a 20% default rate of withholding on the taxable
amount of the distribution. You can’t choose withholding at a
rate of less than 20% (including “-0-”). Note that the default
rate of withholding may be too low for your tax situation. You
may choose to enter a rate higher than 20% on line 2. Don’t
give Form W-4R to your payer unless you want more than
20% withheld.
Note that the following payments are not eligible rollover
distributions for purposes of these withholding rules:
• Qualifying “hardship” distributions;
• Distributions required by federal law, such as required
minimum distributions;
• Generally, distributions from a pension-linked emergency
savings account;
• Eligible distributions to a domestic abuse victim;
• Qualified disaster recovery distributions;
• Qualified birth or adoption distributions; and
• Emergency personal expense distributions.
See Pub. 505 for details. See also Nonperiodic payments—
10% withholding above.
Payments to nonresident aliens and foreign estates. Do
not use Form W-4R. See Pub. 515, Withholding of Tax on
Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities, and Pub. 519, U.S.
Tax Guide for Aliens, for more information.
Tax relief for victims of terrorist attacks. If your disability
payments for injuries incurred as a direct result of a terrorist
attack are not taxable, enter “-0-” on line 2. See Pub. 3920,
Tax Relief for Victims of Terrorist Attacks, for more details.
Specific Instructions
Line 1b
For an estate, enter the estate’s employer identification
number (EIN) in the area reserved for “Social security
number.”
Line 2
More withholding. If you want more than the default rate
withheld from your payment, you may enter a higher rate on
line 2.
Less withholding (nonperiodic payments only). If
permitted, you may enter a lower rate on line 2 (including
“-0-”) if you want less than the 10% default rate withheld
from your payment. If you have already paid, or plan to pay,
your tax on this payment through other withholding or
estimated tax payments, you may want to enter “-0-”.
Suggestion for determining withholding. Consider using
the Marginal Rate Tables on page 1 to help you select the
appropriate withholding rate for this payment or distribution.
The tables are most accurate if the appropriate amount of
tax on all other sources of income, deductions, and credits
has been paid through other withholding or estimated tax
payments. If the appropriate amount of tax on those sources
of income has not been paid through other withholding or
estimated tax payments, you can pay that tax through
withholding on this payment by entering a rate that is greater
than the rate in the Marginal Rate Tables.
The marginal tax rate is the rate of tax on each additional
dollar of income you receive above a particular amount of
income. You can use the table for your filing status as a
guide to find a rate of withholding for amounts above the
total income level in the table.
To determine the appropriate rate of withholding from the
table, do the following. Step 1: Find the rate that
corresponds with your total income not including the
payment. Step 2: Add your total income and the taxable
amount of the payment and find the corresponding rate.
If these two rates are the same, enter that rate on line 2.
(See Example 1 below.)
If the two rates differ, multiply (a) the amount in the lower
rate bracket by the rate for that bracket, and (b) the amount
in the higher rate bracket by the rate for that bracket. Add
these two numbers; this is the expected tax for this
payment. To get the rate to have withheld, divide this
amount by the taxable amount of the payment. Round up to
the next whole number and enter that rate on line 2. (See
Example 2 below.)
If you prefer a simpler approach (but one that may lead to
overwithholding), find the rate that corresponds to your total
income including the payment and enter that rate on line 2.
Examples. Assume the following facts for Examples 1 and 2.
Your filing status is single. You expect the taxable amount of
your payment to be $20,000. Appropriate amounts have
been withheld for all other sources of income and any
deductions or credits.
Example 1. You expect your total income to be $62,000
without the payment. Step 1: Because your total income
without the payment, $62,000, is greater than $61,750 but
less than $115,125, the corresponding rate is 22%. Step 2:
Because your total income with the payment, $82,000, is
greater than $61,750 but less than $115,125, the
corresponding rate is 22%. Because these two rates are the
same, enter “22” on line 2.
Example 2. You expect your total income to be $43,700
without the payment. Step 1: Because your total income
without the payment, $43,700, is greater than $26,200 but
less than $61,750, the corresponding rate is 12%. Step 2:
Because your total income with the payment, $63,700, is