W-4 Form

What are employer's responsibilities when it comes to Form W-4?

1. Tax Withholding 2. Lock-in letters 3. Form W-4 recordkeeping

How long should an employer keep a W-4 on file for?

4 years after the date the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later.

When it comes to withholding allowances, what is the general rule?

As an employee claims more exemptions, employers will withhold less federal income tax from their wages. As an employee claims fewer exemptions, more federal income taxes will be withheld from their wages.

If an employee wants to make a change to their W-4 form, what is the time frame for employers to implement the changes?

Changes must be put into effect no later than the payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after the new form is received.

Can employees change their withholding allowances?

Employees can change their withholding allowances at any time.

How many allowances can an employee claim?

Employees can claim as many withholding allowances that applies to them. The more situations on the worksheet that apply to the employee, the more withholding allowances the employee can claim.

What do employees claim on the W-4 form?

Employees claim withholding allowances.

What is a W-4 form used for?

Employees will use the worksheets and tables to determine their allowances and any additional withholding amount.

What are withholding allowances?

Exemptions from federal income tax.

What is a W-4 form?

Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, is an IRS form that new employees must complete when they start at a business.

How much should employers withhold from employee wages?

How much employers withhold depends on how much the employee earned and how many withholding allowances the employee claimed.

How does an employer claim an exemption?

If an employee is exempt from federal income taxes, they will need to claim exemption from withholding of federal income tax by writing "Exempt" on Line 7 of Form W-4.

What does the employer's lock-in letters responsibilities entail?

If an employer receives a lock-in letter, the employee will have a certain amount of time to dispute it with the IRS. After that time, the employer must honor the letter. They must follow the instructions on the letter until told otherwise.

What does the number of withholding allowances an employee claims determine?

It helps to determine how much federal income tax to withhold from their wages.

Why would an employee want to change their withholding allowances?

It may depend on financial or family status changes such as: - Marriage or divorce - Birth or adoption of a child - Employee starts a second job - Spouse has an employment change - Decides to itemize deductions - Too much or too little is being withheld

When will the new form go into effect?

No later than the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from the date the employer received the new Form W-4.

Do withholding allowances expire?

No, but an exemption from with allowances expires. Employees claiming exempt on W-4 must give employers a new Form W-4 every year by the deadline for exemptions, February 15th.

What is a lock-in letter?

Sometimes the IRS will send a notice stating the maximum number of allowances an employee can claim. The IRS might send a notice because an employee continuously owes large amounts of federal income tax, among other reasons. The notice is called a "lock-in letter."

What should employees do once they figure out their withholding allowances?

They should complete the certificate. The certificate requires information about each employee's name, address, marital status, and total allowances, among other things.

What should an employee do if they want to change the number of withholding allowances?

They should submit a new Form W-4 to the employer.

What does the employer's tax withholding responsibilities entail? Why?

When a new Form W-4 from an employee is received, the employer must record the allowances or exemption in the payroll processing system. This way, they can accurately withhold the correct amount of federal income tax in following payrolls.

Can employers keep a copy of an employee's Form W-4 in Patriot's software?

Yes! They can keep a copy of it in the cloud with Patriot's HR Software. They can share the form with the employee so they can renew it.

Can employees be exempt from federal tax withholding? Explain.

Yes. To be exempt, an employee must meet all exemptions requirements and give a Form W-4 stating they are exempt. In order to claim the Form W-4 status, the employee must meet the Form W-4 deadline for exemptions each year.

What does the employer's responsibilities with Form W-4 recordkeeping entail?

You do not have to send Form W-4 to the IRS unless it requests to see the form. You must keep a copy on file, though.