After releasing the final Form W-4 and the final FAQs in December 2019, the IRS strongly recommends tax professionals rely on the updated and final versions of them, instead of earlier drafts, for the purpose of any communication and products distributed to clients.
To say steps 2 and 4 of the W-4 are optional is inaccurate, the IRS clarified. While everyone must complete steps 1-5, taxpayers are to complete steps 2-4 only if they apply to their situation. Any of the steps that don’t apply to the taxpayer’s situation should be skipped. However, neither the form nor FAQs state that taxpayers with multiple jobs may treat step 2 as optional.
Step 4 is the only explicitly optional step of the W-4 process. Find the new W-4 here.