If you have a single source of income and don't mind over-withholding (and getting a refund come tax time), yes. If you want to reduce the amount you're withho

If you have a single source of income and don't mind over-withholding (and getting a refund come tax time), yes. If you want to reduce the amount you're withholding (so you pay less during the year, and receive less of a refund), you have to claim allowances. And the way those connect to the amount actually withheld isn't entirely straightforward (it's the tables starting on Page 48 at [1]). And then it gets way more complicated if you have multiple sources of income, because the withholding calculations don't work in that case (underestimates your withholding, and you end up owing the IRS money at the end of the year). I haven't seen the new form and can't say whether or not it's actually any better, but it can't be much worse; the current W-4 is one of those forms that looks simple ("just" two numbers to punch in) but turns out to be a fair bit more complicated. [1] https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15.pdf