Step by Step
How to fill out the California DE 4, line by line
This is the de 4 form how to fill out single and married guide: the 2026 DE4 takes about ten minutes with the worksheet in front of you. Work top to bottom — filing status, allowances, extra withholding, exemption, signature.
How to fill out DE 4 in one pass: check the filing status box that matches you, use Worksheet A to total your withholding allowances on Line 1a, add Worksheet B estimated deductions on Line 1b, sum them on Line 1c, then sign and date it and give the form to your employer before your first paycheck.
Line 1: pick your marital status box
Four boxes sit at the top of the form, and exactly one applies to you:
- Single — unmarried, or married but withholding separately, with no working spouse claiming allowances for this household.
- Married (one income) — married and this job is the household's only income.
- Married (two or more incomes) — married and either spouse works, or you hold more than one job. When a second income exists, claim ALL of your allowances on the highest-paying job and ZERO on the others, and claim allowances with one employer only.
- Head of Household — unmarried and paying more than half the cost of keeping a home for a qualifying child or dependent.
Filling out a DE 4 form as single? If you are single with more than one job, follow the same two-job rule the form gives for “Single or Married (with two or more incomes)”: claim every allowance on your highest-paying job, enter zero on the others, and give the allowance-carrying DE 4 to one employer only.
Line 1a: number of regular withholding allowances (Worksheet A for Regular Withholding Allowances)
Line 1a is the number of regular withholding allowances worksheet A gives you. Worksheet A for Regular Withholding Allowances is printed in the lower half of the form: enter 1 for yourself (A), 1 for your spouse if not separately claimed by your spouse (B), 1 for blindness — yourself (C), 1 for blindness — your spouse (D), and one allowance per dependent (E), never counting yourself or your spouse. Add A+B+C+D+E for the total on Line 1a (F). Count yours now in the DE 4 Worksheet A calculator below.
Line 1b: California DE-4 estimated deductions (Worksheet B)
Estimated deductions are the write-offs that reduce your expected California taxable income — an itemized or standard deduction estimate plus other income adjustments. Worksheet B converts them into allowances. Complete Worksheet B only if you claim itemized deductions or have those adjustments; otherwise leave Line 1b blank or enter 0.
Line 1c: total number of withholding allowances
Add Line 1a and Line 1b. Line 1c is the final allowance count your employer applies to your wages, so copy it onto the form exactly.
Line 2: additional amount to withhold each pay period
Optional. Worksheet C produces a fixed extra dollar amount withheld from every paycheck — useful when you have side income or you under-withheld last year. Enter that dollar figure on Line 2.
Line 3: exemption from withholding for 2026
Check Line 3 only if you had no California tax liability in the prior year and expect none for 2026. An approved exemption means no California tax is withheld at all, and you must renew it by filing a new DE 4 by February 15 each year or it expires.
Line 4: military spouse exemption
Check Line 4 if you are a military spouse whose spouse's state of legal residence is not California. It exempts the covered pay from California withholding under the military spouse exemption rules.
Sign, date, and give the DE 4 to your employer
Sign and date the certificate — a DE 4 without a signature is invalid. Give the completed form to your employer's payroll office before your first paycheck so the right California withholding starts immediately.
