Fill Out IRS Form W-4V Online
Voluntary Withholding Request
Internal Revenue Service
Requests voluntary federal income tax withholding from government payments such as Social Security benefits or unemployment compensation.
Reviewed July 2026
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IRS Form W-4V, Voluntary Withholding Request, lets you ask a government payer to withhold federal income tax from benefit payments that normally arrive with nothing taken out. It is most often used for Social Security benefits and unemployment compensation, where a surprise tax bill in April is a common problem.
You can complete Form W-4V in the Universal PDF editor, pick your withholding option, sign, and download the finished PDF to deliver to the agency that pays you. Withholding through W-4V is entirely optional, and you can change or stop it later by filing a new form.
What is Form W-4V used for
The form covers a specific list of federal payments: unemployment compensation (including certain railroad unemployment payments), Social Security benefits, Social Security equivalent Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, Commodity Credit Corporation loans, certain crop disaster payments, and dividends or distributions from Alaska Native Corporations.
Because these payments can be taxable, withholding at the source is a convenient alternative to making quarterly estimated tax payments with Form 1040-ES. Instead of picking any amount, you choose from the flat percentage rates printed on the form. For unemployment compensation only one rate is offered, while the other covered payments let you pick among several rates. Check the current form for the exact percentages available.
Who needs to file Form W-4V
Nobody is required to file it. It is for people receiving one of the covered government payments who want tax withheld voluntarily rather than settling up at filing time. Retirees whose Social Security benefits are partly taxable and workers collecting unemployment benefits are the typical users.
If you want withholding from a private pension, annuity, or IRA distribution instead, that is handled with Form W-4P or W-4R, not W-4V.
How to fill out Form W-4V
The form is short, with numbered lines:
- Lines 1 and 2: your name, address, and Social Security number or other official identifying number.
- Line 3: an identification or claim number if the payer uses one that differs from your SSN.
- Line 4: for unemployment compensation, check the single withholding rate box shown on the form.
- Line 5: for Social Security and the other covered payments, check one of the percentage boxes listed.
- Line 6: check this box instead if you want to stop withholding that you previously requested.
- Line 7: sign and date the form.
Where to send it
Send or deliver the completed W-4V to the agency paying you, not to the IRS. For Social Security benefits that means the Social Security Administration, for unemployment compensation your state unemployment office. The payer starts, changes, or stops withholding based on the form.
Frequently asked questions
No. You must pick one of the flat percentage rates printed on the form. Fixed dollar requests are not accepted for these payments.
It depends on whether part of your benefits will be taxable, which is driven by your other income. If some portion is taxable, withholding via W-4V can prevent an April balance due. A tax professional can help you estimate.
File a new W-4V with the stop-withholding box checked and give it to the same payer. Withholding ends after the payer processes the form.
No. It always goes to the agency that issues your payments, such as the Social Security Administration or your state unemployment office.
No, it is voluntary. But unemployment compensation is generally taxable income, so many people opt in to avoid owing money at filing time.
Related forms
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