Form W-4: Employee's Withholding Certificate [1]
Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a new federal Form W-4 [2] Employee’s Withholding Certificate for tax year 2020. The new Form W-4 [2] is significantly different than the previous W-4 forms.
Before completing the 2020 Form W-4, please read the instructions that are included with the form. You must complete Steps 1 and 5. Steps 2, 3, and 4 are optional, but completing them will help ensure that your federal income tax withholding will more accurately match your tax liability. Step 1 is for your personal information; Step 2 is for households with multiple jobs; Step 3 is used to claim tax credits for dependents; Step 4 is for other adjustments (additional income such as interest and dividends, itemized deductions that exceed the standard deduction, and extra tax you want withheld).
The IRS has provided the following guidance:
- Employees hired before 2020 are not required to submit new forms; withholding will continue based upon your previously submitted valid W-4.
- Employees hired before 2020 who wish to adjust their withholding after January 1, 2020, must use the new form. NOTE: Once a new form W-4 is submitted, you will not be able to revert your withholding to be based on allowances.
- Employees hired on or after January 1, 2020, will be required to use the new forms.
- Employees hired on or after January 1, 2020, who do not submit a valid W-4 form will be treated as a single filer with no adjustments.
If an employee has not completed a 2020 W-4:
- Since there was such a major change on the 2020 Form W-4, the marital status is the only field that is carried forward on Employee Self Service.
If an employee has completed the 2020 W-4:
- Entries from your most recent 2020 W-4 are carried forward and display as selected (Step 3 will display a total amount only).
Even though the IRS does not require all employees to complete the revised form and even if your tax situation has not changed, we recommend you perform a “paycheck checkup” to see if you need to make adjustments to your current withholding. To conduct the checkup, you can use the IRS’s Tax Withholding Estimator [3].
The IRS has also published Frequently Asked Questions [4] that you may find helpful as you complete the form.
Please note that Ohio State cannot provide guidance on completion of the new W-4 or any related tax implications. We recommend that you contact your tax consultant with any questions you may have.
How to Adjust the Amount of Withholding
Your W-4 tax elections impact the amount of federal taxes withheld from each paycheck. You can review and make changes to your W-4 elections in the Workday [5] Benefits and Pay Hub app.
Reasons Employees Review W-4 Elections
Employees may choose to review their federal tax elections when they receive a large tax refund or owe taxes for the previous tax year. Tax elections are also typically reviewed during significant life events like marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, and retirement.
IRS Resources:
About Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate [6]
Tax Withholding Estimator [3]
Child Tax Credit [7]