Last updated: Jun 9, 2026, 10:30 AM
Find, update, and adjust your federal and state Form W-4 in Toast Payroll, including withholding, exempt status, and reciprocity.
You find your Form W-4 in Toast Payroll on the Tax Forms tab of your profile. As an existing employee, log into Toast Payroll and navigate to My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms. This page always displays your federal Form W-4 and any state Form W-4s that apply to you.
If you are a new employee, you should complete your Form W-4(s) as part of the New Hire Checklist during onboarding.
Note: Employers, managers, and HR+ users cannot edit a Form W-4 on an employee's behalf. Only the employee can complete or update their own Form W-4.
To change or update your Form W-4, navigate to My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms in Toast Payroll. Select the Federal W-4 hyperlink or the Fill Out State W-4 button for the form you want to update, then complete the steps and select Submit.
You will be guided through the Form W-4 steps again. For a full walkthrough with screenshots, see Toast Payroll: Update Form W-4 Information.
Expected outcome: Your updated Form W-4 saves, and the change takes effect on the next payroll as long as that payroll has not been started or calculated yet.
You change your tax withholding on your paycheck by updating your Form W-4 in Toast Payroll. Your withholding is calculated from the elections on your federal and state Form W-4s, so adjusting those forms is how you increase or decrease the tax taken out of your pay.
Navigate to My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms, select Federal W-4 or Fill Out State W-4, update your elections, and select Submit. Changes take effect on the next payroll if it has not already been started or calculated.
Note: Toast Payroll cannot advise you on how to fill out your Form W-4 or how much to withhold. For help deciding your withholding amounts, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator or contact a CPA, tax advisor, or the IRS.
You will see your federal Form W-4 plus any state Form W-4s that apply to where you live and where you work. The Tax Forms step of the new hire workflow and the Tax Forms tab on your profile (My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms) always display the federal form and your applicable state forms.
If your home or work state changes after you complete a Form W-4, you will have the option to fill out the form for the new state. Your previous state's selections will still display under the W4 Settings section on this page.
If the states you live in and work in have a reciprocity agreement, both forms will still display, but the system will only tax you based on the state's agreement.
No, not all states require a Form W-4. Nine states do not collect income tax and therefore do not require a state Form W-4: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
If you live and work only in one of these nine states, you will complete a federal Form W-4 but no state Form W-4.
If you marked yourself exempt by mistake on your federal or state Form W-4, you fix it by filling out a new Form W-4 in Toast Payroll so you are taxed correctly going forward. Navigate to My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms, select Federal W-4 or Fill Out State W-4, complete the form without the exempt election, and select Submit.
When you update the form, you can also choose to have additional taxes withheld on future payrolls to catch up on any withholding you missed while marked exempt.
Note: Correcting checks that were already paid while you were marked exempt is a separate process. If you need past paychecks adjusted, contact Toast Customer Care.
Yes, you can add extra withholding to your Form W-4. When you complete your federal or state Form W-4 in Toast Payroll, you can enter an additional withholding amount so that more tax is taken out of each paycheck on top of your standard withholding.
Navigate to My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms, select Federal W-4 or Fill Out State W-4, enter your additional withholding amount, and select Submit.
Yes, you can fill out your Form W-4 on your phone. The Form W-4 interface in Toast Payroll is mobile-friendly, so you can add or edit your state and federal Form W-4s without access to a computer.
Some states offer a Form W-4 in Spanish, but not all. At this time, only some states have Spanish-language Form W-4s available. More states may add Spanish forms in the future, but that is determined by each state and is outside of Toast Payroll's control.
Toast Payroll can guide you to your Form W-4 and help troubleshoot if the form is not working as expected, but it cannot advise you on how to fill it out. Toast representatives are not able to tell customers or employees how they should complete a Form W-4 or how much to withhold.
For guidance on what to enter, use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator or contact a CPA, tax advisor, or the IRS.
Your Form W-4 changes take effect on the next payroll, as long as that payroll has not been started or calculated yet. After you submit a new federal or state Form W-4, navigate to My Profile > Taxes & Documents > Tax Forms and scroll down to the W-4 forms to confirm your update. Use the print icon to view a copy of the completed form. Check with your manager or payroll administrator to confirm whether the upcoming payroll has already been started.
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No federal income tax being withheld can happen for a few reasons tied to your Form W-4 and your pay. If you claimed dependents or a deduction amount on your federal Form W-4, your calculated withholding may be reduced to zero. Your pay for a period may also be low enough to fall in the lowest tax bracket, which withholds no federal income tax. To learn how withholding is calculated, see Toast Payroll: Federal Income Tax & State Income Tax Calculations. Toast Payroll cannot advise on how much tax you should have withheld; contact a CPA, tax advisor, or the IRS.
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Toast Payroll displays both state Form W-4s when you live and work in states with a reciprocity agreement, and it taxes you based on that agreement. In some reciprocity situations, certain state or local taxes may still apply or may need to be set up by your employer or payroll administrator, so your withholding may not be fully automatic. If your reciprocity withholding does not look right, have your employer contact Toast Customer Care. To learn more about how state income tax is calculated, see Toast Payroll: Federal Income Tax & State Income Tax Calculations.
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The difference is who completes each form and what it does: an employee completes a Form W-4 to tell Toast Payroll how much tax to withhold, an employer issues a Form W-2 to report a year's earnings and taxes withheld, and an independent contractor completes a Form W-9. For a full comparison, see Toast Payroll: Compare Forms W-2, W-4, and W-9.
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This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for advice.