Form W-4V - Voluntary Withholding Request

What Form W-4V is

Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, is a one-page IRS form you give directly to the agency or company that pays you, not to the IRS itself. It tells that payer to start taking federal income tax out of certain government payments before the money reaches you. Withholding on these payments is not required by law, so without this form the full amount is paid to you and you are responsible for covering the tax yourself, usually through quarterly estimated tax payments.

The form only applies to a specific list of payments: unemployment compensation (including Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act payments), Social Security benefits, Social Security equivalent Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, Commodity Credit Corporation loans, certain crop disaster payments, and dividends or other distributions from Alaska Native Corporations.

Who typically needs it

People who just started collecting unemployment benefits and want tax taken out automatically instead of owing a lump sum at filing time. Retirees and others who began receiving Social Security or railroad retirement benefits and prefer steady withholding over estimated tax payments. Farmers or landowners receiving Commodity Credit Corporation loans or qualifying crop disaster payments, and Alaska Native Corporation shareholders receiving dividends.

What you need before you start

• Your full legal name and current mailing address.
• Your Social Security number.
• The claim or identification number your payer uses for your account. For Social Security benefits, this is the claim number shown on your award letter, which may include a letter suffix after the number.
• A decision on the withholding percentage: unemployment compensation only allows 10 percent, while the other eligible payments let you choose 7, 10, 12 or 22 percent.

How to fill it out online with PDF Editify

Click "Fill Template Now" to open Form W-4V in the editor with every field ready to type into. Work through the form in order:

• Line 1: first name, middle initial and last name.
• Line 2: Social Security number.
• Line 3: home address, including city or town, state and ZIP code. If you live outside the United States, enter the city, province or state and country instead, following that country's format for the postal code.
• Line 4: the claim or identification number your payer uses for you, if one applies.
• Line 5: check this box only if the withholding is for unemployment compensation. The rate is fixed at 10 percent, there is no option to choose a different amount.
• Line 6: check this box if the payment is Social Security, Tier 1 railroad retirement, a Commodity Credit Corporation loan, a qualifying crop disaster payment, or an Alaska Native Corporation dividend, then check one withholding rate: 7, 10, 12 or 22 percent.
• Line 7: check this box instead if you want to stop withholding you had previously requested.

Only one of lines 5, 6 or 7 should be checked, matching the single payment type and action you are requesting.

Signing and where to submit

Scroll to the signature line and add your signature by drawing, typing or uploading an image, then add the date. Form W-4V is not valid unless signed. Once signed, download the completed PDF. Give the form directly to the payer, for example your state unemployment office or the Social Security Administration, never to the IRS. Social Security recipients can alternatively submit the request at the SSA's own withholding page or by phone, or mail the signed form to their local Social Security office.

Deadlines and fees

There is no filing deadline and no fee to submit Form W-4V. You can send it whenever you start receiving an eligible payment or want to change an existing withholding election. Ask your payer how long it takes for the new withholding to start, since it does not take effect immediately (verified against the IRS instructions for Form W-4V, revision January 2026, checked October 2026).

Common mistakes

• Checking more than one box on lines 5 through 7 instead of the single option that matches the request being made.
• Trying to choose a custom percentage for unemployment compensation, when only the fixed 10 percent rate is allowed.
• Leaving the form unsigned, which makes it invalid even if every other field is complete.
• Mailing the form to the IRS instead of giving it to the payer named on the form.
• Using an old claim number instead of the one shown on the current benefit award letter, which can delay processing.