NEW Form W-4 for Tax Withholding

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently published a newly designed Form W-4 due to federal tax law changes.

Why Has the IRS Published a New Form W-4?

The new W-4 is designed to help employees more accurately calculate their withholding allowances. Federal tax law changes have removed personal and dependent exemptions from the W-4. In the past, the value of a withholding allowance was tied to the amount of a personal exemption. This is no longer the case.

Who Should Complete a New Form W-4?

Current employees are not required to submit a new form. It is only required if you are a new hire in 2020, OR if you wish to update your current W-4 for payrolls dated after January 1, 2020.

Each employee must make withholding decisions on their own, or with the assistance of their individual tax consultant. Withholding is a very individual decision based on each person’s financial and personal situation. The UW is not authorized to provide tax advice.

To help you decide if you should complete a new W-4, review the resources below, and consider if you have had any personal or financial changes in the past year. Remember, you are not required to submit the new form.

New Form W-4 Resources

To help employees learn about and complete the new W-4, FAQs are posted on the IRS website. In January 2020, an IRS Tax Withholding Estimator will be added to the IRS website to further assist employees in making decisions about the new form.

If You Want to Complete a New Form W-4

If you decide after reviewing the new W-4 and applicable resources that you would like to complete a new form, you can submit a Form W-4 at your campus human resource office. Before completing the 2020 form, read the instructions included with the form.

  • You must complete Step 1 (personal information) and Step 5 (signing the form).
  • 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 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).

NEW Employee Self-Service Form W-4

Early in 2020, it is planned that electronic self service will be available for employees to update their W-4 on the MyUW portal. Stay tuned for updates on this as we begin the new year.

Please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu if you have questions.

Source: UW System Human Resources