BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Whenever you start a new job there’s always a stack of paperwork to fill out. Buried in there is something called a W-4 form or an Employee’s Withholding Certificate.

Meredith Dietz is Lifehacker’s Senior Staff Writer. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Communications from Northeastern University, where she graduated as valedictorian of her college.

When you start a new job, your employer will ask you to complete a W-4 form. The IRS W-4 helps determine the correct amount of income tax your employer will withhold from your wages. But how does it ...