How to Fill Out the NJ-W4 Form: Status, Allowances, Exemptions

To fill out the NJ-W4 form, work through its six numbered lines in order: enter your name, address, and Social Security Number on Line 1; check a filing status box on Line 2; add a wage chart letter on Line 3 if you have a second household income; claim your allowances on Line 4; request any extra dollar amount on Line 5; write “EXEMPT” on Line 6 only if your income falls below the state threshold; then sign, date, and hand the form to your employer’s payroll department. The whole thing takes about five minutes once you have your details in front of you. The current form is on the New Jersey Division of Taxation website, and your completed copy goes to your employer, never to the state.

What to Have in Front of You

Before you open the form, pull together:

Your Social Security Number.
Your current home address, including apartment number and zip code.
Your filing status. New Jersey generally uses the same filing status as your federal return.¹
A rough estimate of combined household wages if you or your spouse hold more than one job or have other income.

Having these ready keeps you from guessing on the form and submitting a correction later.

Line 1: Name, Address, and Social Security Number

Line 1 is a single block for your full legal name, current home address, and Social Security Number.² Use the name that matches your Social Security card. If you have recently moved, enter the new address so your employer’s records stay current.

Line 2: Filing Status

Line 2 has five checkboxes. Check the one that fits your situation:

Box 1, Single: unmarried and not qualifying for another status.
Box 2, Married/Civil Union Couple Joint: you and your spouse or civil union partner file a joint return.
Box 3, Married/Civil Union Partner Separate: married or in a civil union but filing your own return.
Box 4, Head of Household: unmarried and paying more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying dependent.
Box 5, Qualifying Widow(er)/Surviving Civil Union Partner: your spouse or partner died within the past two years and you maintain a home for a dependent child.

Your box sets the default rate your employer applies. Box 1 or Box 3 gets Rate A. Box 2, 4, or 5 gets Rate B, unless you also fill in Line 3.²

Line 3: The Wage Chart

Line 3 is optional and only applies if you checked Box 2, 4, or 5 and your combined household income is more than $50,000. The wage chart is printed on the back of the form, and it gives you a rate letter from A through E when your household has more than one source of wages.²

To use it:

Find your own wages in the left column.
Find all other household wages, including your spouse’s, along the top row.
Read the letter where the row and column meet.
Enter that letter on Line 3.

Higher letters mean higher withholding. New Jersey taxes household income at graduated rates, so a second earner can push both incomes into a higher bracket. Skip this step when it applies and your employer withholds at Rate B by default, which may leave you with a balance due in April.

Line 4: Allowances

On Line 4, enter the total number of withholding allowances you claim. Each allowance reduces the wages subject to withholding, so a higher number means less tax comes out of each paycheck and a lower number means more.²

The allowance worksheet on the second page walks you through the count. Allowances track the personal exemptions and dependency credits you expect to claim on your New Jersey return: generally one for yourself, one for a spouse on a joint return, and one for each qualifying dependent. If you work more than one job or have a working spouse, claiming fewer allowances helps prevent under-withholding.

Skip the form entirely and your employer defaults to zero allowances, which produces the maximum withholding for your rate letter.

Line 5: Extra Withholding

Line 5 lets you request a specific extra dollar amount pulled from every paycheck.³ It’s useful if you receive income that isn’t subject to withholding, such as freelance earnings, rental income, or investment gains, and you’d rather cover the resulting tax through payroll than through separate estimated payments.

There is no minimum or maximum. Enter a whole-dollar amount. If you don’t need extra withholding, leave the line blank or enter zero.

Line 6: Exempt Status

Write “EXEMPT” on Line 6 only if you expect to owe no New Jersey income tax for the year. You qualify when your total income falls below the state’s thresholds:²

Single or married filing separately: wages plus taxable nonwage income of $10,000 or less.
Married or civil union couple filing jointly: combined wages and taxable nonwage income of $20,000 or less.
Head of household or qualifying surviving spouse: wages plus taxable nonwage income of $20,000 or less.

An exempt claim is good for one year. You have to submit a new NJ-W4 each year to renew it. If your income climbs past the threshold mid-year, file an updated form right away so your employer restarts withholding.²

Signing and Submitting

Sign and date the form at the bottom. Your signature certifies that the information is accurate. Give the completed form to your employer’s payroll or human resources department. Don’t mail it to the Division of Taxation.³ Many employers accept submissions through an online employee portal, but a signed paper copy works too.

Your new withholding should take effect the next pay cycle after payroll processes the form. Keep a personal copy to compare against your annual W-2.

When to File a New NJ-W4

Submit a new NJ-W4 whenever a life event changes your filing status or the number of allowances you can claim. Common triggers:

Marriage or civil union, which changes both your status and your allowance count.
Divorce or separation, which usually requires an updated filing status and allowance count.⁴
Birth or adoption of a child, adding a dependent.
A spouse who starts or stops working, which can change your wage chart letter.
Taking a second job, which may call for fewer allowances or extra withholding on Line 5.
Receiving alimony, which you can cover by adding extra withholding on Line 5 instead of paying estimated tax.⁴

And remember that Line 6 exemptions expire annually. If you claimed exempt, file a fresh NJ-W4 at the start of each calendar year to keep it.

If You Live in Pennsylvania and Work in New Jersey

Pennsylvania residents working in New Jersey don’t owe New Jersey income tax on their wages, thanks to a reciprocal agreement between the two states. Under the agreement, “compensation” covers salaries, wages, tips, commissions, and bonuses.⁵

Instead of an NJ-W4, complete Form NJ-165 (Employee’s Certificate of Non-Residence in New Jersey) and give it to your employer. That form stops New Jersey withholding and lets your employer withhold Pennsylvania tax instead. If you move out of Pennsylvania to another state, notify your employer within 10 days. The reciprocal deal covers only wages and salary; self-employment or other non-wage income taxable in New Jersey still requires a New Jersey nonresident return.⁵ If your employer has already been withholding New Jersey tax, you can file a nonresident return to get a refund.

What Happens If You Under-Withhold

If your paychecks don’t cover enough tax during the year, because you claimed too many allowances or skipped the wage chart, you’ll owe the difference when you file. New Jersey charges interest on underpayments at the prime rate plus 3 percent, compounded annually. For 2026, the assessed rate on outstanding balances is 10 percent.⁶ Providing false information on the NJ-W4, such as claiming allowances or an exemption you don’t qualify for, can also bring civil and criminal penalties under New Jersey law.

The simplest defense is to review your NJ-W4 at least once a year, especially after any change in income or household, and use the wage chart and Line 5 to keep your withholding close to what you’ll actually owe.

1
NJ Division of Taxation. Taxation Filing Status
2
State of New Jersey – Division of Taxation. NJ Employees Withholding Allowance Certificate Form NJ-W4
3
NJ Division of Taxation. Employees Withholding Allowance Certificate Form NJ-W4
4
NJ Division of Taxation. Divorcing Your Spouse
5
NJ Division of Taxation. PA/NJ Reciprocal Income Tax Agreement
6
NJ Division of Taxation. Interest Rate Assessed on Tax Balances for 2026