Updated October 18, 2026. Quick answer: Line 2 of Form W-4R is the only place to ask for a withholding rate other than the default. You enter a whole number, higher or, for some payments, lower than the default. The form suggests a method based on its Marginal Rate Tables, which are printed on page 1 of the form and are not reproduced here.
What this part is for
Line 2 is the optional part of the Form W-4R certificate. The line itself says “Complete this line if you would like a rate of withholding that is different from the default withholding rate.” The defaults and the lines before this one are explained at Form W-4R lines 1a and 1b. Periodic payments use the Form W-4P guide instead.
The lines, one by one
| Line | What the form says |
|---|---|
| Line 2 | “Complete this line if you would like a rate of withholding that is different from the default withholding rate.” “Enter the rate as a whole number (no decimals)” |
| Line 2, pointer | “See the instructions on page 2 and the Marginal Rate Tables below for additional information.” |
| More withholding | “If you want more than the default rate withheld from your payment, you may enter a higher rate on line 2.” |
| Less withholding | “if you want less than the 10% default rate withheld from your payment.” “If you have already paid, or plan to pay, your tax on this payment through other withholding or estimated tax payments, you may want to enter” “-0-“. |
The sentence about the entry itself reads “You may choose to have no federal income tax withheld by entering” “-0-” “on line 2.” The instructions limit lower rates for payments sent abroad: “on any payments to be delivered outside the United States and its territories.” For the full sentence, read the Nonperiodic payments paragraph on page 2 of your form.
For rollovers there is no choice below the default: “You can’t choose withholding at a rate of less than 20%”. The default rates themselves are set out at Form W-4R lines 1a and 1b.
Where the number comes from
The form’s suggestion is built on its tables. The instructions say “Consider using the Marginal Rate Tables on page 1 to help you select the appropriate withholding rate for this payment or distribution.” “The tables are most accurate if the appropriate amount of tax on all other sources of income, deductions, and credits has been paid through other withholding or estimated tax payments.” “If the appropriate amount of tax on those sources of income has not been paid through other withholding or estimated tax payments, you can pay that tax through withholding on this payment by entering a rate that is greater than the rate in the Marginal Rate Tables.”
The Marginal Rate Tables are printed on page 1 of the form, one column set for each filing status. Their brackets and rates are not reproduced here, so read them on your own copy. The form introduces them this way: “Add your income from all sources and use the column that matches your filing status to find the corresponding rate of withholding.” “The marginal tax rate is the rate of tax on each additional dollar of income you receive above a particular amount of income.”
The method has two steps. “To determine the appropriate rate of withholding from the table, do the following.” “Step 1: Find the rate that corresponds with your total income not including the payment.” “Step 2: Add your total income and the taxable amount of the payment and find the corresponding rate.” “If these two rates are the same, enter that rate on line 2.”
If the rates differ: “If the two rates differ, multiply (a) the amount in the lower rate bracket by the rate for that bracket, and (b) the amount in the higher rate bracket by the rate for that bracket.” “Add these two numbers; this is the expected tax for this payment.” “To get the rate to have withheld, divide this amount by the taxable amount of the payment.” “Round up to the next whole number and enter that rate on line 2.” A simpler route is offered too: “If you prefer a simpler approach (but one that may lead to overwithholding), find the rate that corresponds to your total income including the payment and enter that rate on line 2.”
Where it goes next
The chosen rate goes on line 2 and the form goes to the payer. The instructions also say the choice lasts: “Your withholding choice (or an election not to have withholding on a nonperiodic payment) will generally apply to any future payment from the same plan or IRA.” “Submit a new Form W-4R if you want to change your election.”
The page-2 instructions include worked examples; they are not reproduced here, so read them on page 2 of the form. For how withheld tax is reported and claimed, see Form 1099-R box 4 and Form 1040 line 25. The retirement withholding calculator and the Form W-4R guide give more background, and Form W-4P Step 4 covers the no-withholding choice on the periodic form.
Rates the form names
| Where | What the IRS prints |
|---|---|
| Nonperiodic payments | “For nonperiodic payments, the default withholding rate is 10%.” |
| Range you may enter | “You can choose to have a different rate by entering a rate between 0% and 100% on line 2.” |
| Eligible rollover distributions | “For an eligible rollover distribution, the default withholding rate is 20%.” |
These are the rates as printed above line 2. The Marginal Rate Tables are not reproduced here.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads the 2026 version of Form W-4R, the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-18. A payer may still be applying an earlier election; check the date and year printed on your own form. Use the line numbers and step letters printed on the copy you are holding, because a different edition can number or word them differently.
Common mistakes
- Entering a rate below 20% on an eligible rollover distribution. The instructions say “You can’t choose withholding at a rate of less than 20%”
- Expecting the tables to cover tax on other income that is not being paid. The form says “The tables are most accurate if the appropriate amount of tax on all other sources of income, deductions, and credits has been paid through other withholding or estimated tax payments.”
- Entering the rate with decimals. The line says “Enter the rate as a whole number (no decimals)”
Related: Form W-4R, Form W-4P, retirement withholding calculator, Form 1099-R box 4, and Form 1040 line 25.
Find the right next step for your situation
About how much do you have invested? Pick the range that fits; your next step appears immediately below.
Get advisor help with retirement withdrawal taxes
For U.S. investors with $250,000 or more in investable assets. WiserAdvisor is an independent service matching you with 2 to 3 vetted advisers. Its form asks for your ZIP code and answers to a few questions; a match is not guaranteed.
Free to request, with no obligation to hire. By submitting, you consent to calls, texts and emails from WiserAdvisor and up to three advisers. Advisers pay for introductions.
Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying completed form. An introduction is not a Clear Money Guide recommendation.
Opens on WiserAdvisor’s site in a new tab.
Explore retirement income planning options for you
Price the destination before you decide. The matching service below introduces you to advisers who pay to meet you.
Before you start, what actually happens. The form is run by Kapitalwise, our advisor-matching partner. Kapitalwise sends your details to advisers who pay for the introduction, so expect calls and texts. Clear Money Guide may earn a referral payment for a qualifying submitted form, whether or not you ever hire anyone. This is free to you and there is no obligation to hire anyone.
The Kapitalwise form opens here; you stay on this page.
What happens when you press the button
It asks about nine questions: age, investable assets, location; then your name, email and phone number, and verifies the phone by text. Nothing loads and nothing reaches Kapitalwise until you press the button.
Prefer flat-fee or hourly pricing instead? Compare ranges here.
Answer againSources
- Form W-4R (2026), Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments and Eligible Rollover Distributions: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4r.pdf
- IRS: About Form W-4R: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-4r
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 18, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.