Below is a list of the most common customer questions.
If you can’t find an answer to your question, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
What is the purpose of Form W-4?
The purpose of Form W-4 is to report information relating to:
Employment of an individual by an employer and the pay of that individual from the employer.
The pay of the individual from a union, employee organization, or other organization, including a nonprofit social welfare organization.
Gross incomes from sales of property by a taxpayer, that is, the taxable portion of income not described elsewhere in this chapter. Note. If a person does not sell or lease goods to be sold to another person on consignment, he is treated as a “nonseller” but the other person is treated as a “seller.” See Publication 17, Taxable and Nontaxable Income, for the rules relating to “nonseller” income. Report the net self-employment income of an individual on page 2 of the Form 1040A. If this income is reported on a Form 1040, the individual must be listed as an employee. If this income is reported on a Form W-2, report it separately on the page relating to Other income. Report an individual's federal and state social security disability income or other federal compensation under Part 1, line 1 only. If this income is paid to a person entitled to the payment under a social security law, see Pub. 744, Social Security Benefits. If you receive less than the full amount of your state assistance, report it separately on line 9 of Part 1, line 10 only. Report the gross income of a sole proprietorship, partnership, or S corporation for the taxpayer's filing status only, and report it only on Form 1040. Report the gross income or taxable compensation of an individual on his or her own line of Form 1040B. If that individual is an employee, report it on the second and subsequent pages of his or her Form 1040. The line for that individual doesn't apply for you. Report the gross income of an estate, trust, or partnership on its own form. Report the gross income of the taxpayer on his or her own form. Report the gross income of an individual under section 1(h) on his or her own form. If the individual isn't a taxpayer, report the other income on his or her own form. Report the gross income of a corporation from partnerships, S corporations, corporations, and partnerships on its own Form 1040A, unless the corporation has a C-corporation section or report the same information on its own Form 1040.
Who should complete Form W-4?
All employees, including those who should do nothing to help the U.S. tax collection and IRS enforcement efforts and have been issued a W-4 in error.
What if the W-4 is issued to the wrong person?
If the W-4 is incorrectly issued to the wrong person, please report it to the IRS on Form 1040 (or Form 1040NR as applicable) by September 30, 2015.
What should a person who believes they've received a W-4 error do?
If the person has questions or needs more information, they can contact the IRS by calling the TEC NU Customer Assistance Center at or by email to or at for international TEC NU customers. If the person has a question about their rights under the W-4 program they can also contact the IRS as follows:
By telephone and in writing:
The TEC NU Customer Assistance Center at; by email to or by facsimile to.
By email to or by facsimile to. By mail:
Taxpayer Advocate Service-TECNU
P.O. Box 50961
Kansas City, KS 66
If the person thinks the error has resulted in an assessment and/or other tax liability, they can submit a request to the IRS to correct the assessment and/or other tax liability by sending a written request to the appropriate IRS tax area. For example, the request was sent in a timely manner.
The IRS reserves the right to ask the person to send a letter stating how to correct the assessment and/or other tax liability. The IRS doesn't ask taxpayers to pay any money to the IRS before they have a written request. Once a person receives the letter they have up to 30 days to send the correct information and/or pay the tax.
The IRS also reserves the right to ask the person to pay a portion of the tax owed using the “Income Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax” application for a refund. The applicable refund will include the amount of the tax withheld and applied.
When do I need to complete Form W-4?
Form W-4 must be filled and sent to your employer (Form W-4 must be posted in your office before you leave).
How long do I have to report a federal income taxes withheld?
If you file your tax return on a calendar year, you must provide your employer with a copy within 10 business days of the end of each calendar quarter.
If you file your tax return on a fiscal year (January 1, February 1 of the same year through December 31), you must provide your employer with a copy within 5 business days of the end of the fiscal period.
Why does the IRS require me to report a federal income tax withholding?
To protect your wages from being subject to taxation by another governmental authority, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), you must report and pay federal income taxes when they are due. Your withholding is necessary to help offset federal taxes paid to a government agency like the U.S. Treasury or Social Security.
What are my withholding options if I am required to report a federal income tax withholding (Form W-4)?
There are three potential income tax withholding options that are available to you if you are required to report a federal tax withholding, or you have already provided a required Form W-4 or other information showing gross wages and remuneration as of April 30 of the current year:
Pay or credit (also known as “backdated withholding”)
You may pay or credit your withholding through a Form W-4. It is your option to pay or credit the withheld taxes by check. When you pay or credit the tax, you must include a “pay or credit” notation on Form 1099-DIV and Form 1099-MISC or attach a statement to your Form 1099-MISC acknowledging payment of the withheld taxes.
Notify your employer
In many cases, your employer may accept a tax payment from you for income tax withheld on Form 1099-MISC or Form 1099-DIV. However, a business may require that all wages be reported by hand, so it is best to notify your employer that you filed Form 1099-DIV and Form 1099-MISC and pay or credit these forms.
Other information you can report
You can report income tax on Form 1040-NR and Form 1040NR-EZ that also includes any non-wage related income. On Form 1040NR, enter 0.
Can I create my own Form W-4?
Yes. We accept the following forms of Forms W-4: Federal, state, county (state plus local), foreign.
Note: If your Form W-4 is not the appropriate form to pay the amount due on your tax return, write “N/A” in the “Last Name” space and then complete the Taxpayer Payment Verification page.
What should I do with Form W-4 when it’s complete?
When completed, there will be two forms to complete. The first is Form W-4. Keep in mind that these will have the information such as your name, address, and Social Security Number. This is important in collecting the money, if necessary. The second form is Form W-7. It doesn't take long, as you should have no trouble completing this.
How many months am I entitled to collect from?
The minimum amount you would owe depends upon the month you worked, the year, and your age: You will be entitled to a minimum amount of 6 months if your first paycheck was made from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2015
You will be entitled to a minimum amount of 12 months if your first paycheck was made from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2016, You will be entitled to a minimum amount of 18 months if your first paycheck was made from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2017
How much will I owe?
You will owe federal income tax on the first 3,000 of your wages for the 2014 calendar year.
How can I get additional information?
To receive additional information, you may contact the Wage and Hour Division. In general this information is available by contacting the following:
T:1-866-4USWAGE ()
E:compliance.gov
W:DOL.WEB.MISBEHAVES (DO-101)
L:DOL.WEEKLYMISBEHAVES (DO-201)
What other information will I need?
If you receive pay through a check (not an EFT), the employee must fill out Form 1099-MISC. If you receive pay differently, such as an EFT, the employee should fill out Form W9.
How do I get my Form W-4?
If you've been in the United States for over 90 days and your employer is withholding U.S. taxes (check with your employer to see if they have a Form W-4), you may have gotten it in the mail. If you don't know how to get it, call your employer and ask for it. You'll need to have the following information with you after you do: Information on your employer account.
Your U.S. address and phone number.
Social security number and your employer ID Number. If you don't have it, your employer may just give the Form W-4 to you and leave it with you.
You must file a federal tax return and pay certain other taxes, like the Medicare tax, even if you are exempt from paying Social Security. There are different situations when employers withhold the U.S. taxes. If you are in this situation and don't have a Form W-4, make sure you know your employer's withholding rules. For the full list of withholding rules, call. If you've had an Employer Identification Number (EIN), you aren't required to file a federal tax return and pay a Social Security tax. Instead, you're not affected by the withholding by employers. Instead, you can use a tax preparation software to file a tax return. For more information about tax preparation software, call.
What are the other tax situations for which you can get Form W-4?
Most workers need to have one document with them when they get their paycheck. That could be a current wage slip (the document you file to get paid), such as an IRS wage statement. The forms you have with you could be the: Form W-2 for all your wages from Form W-1 or Form 1099 (payable on a Friday, except holidays),
Form SS-4 for all your Social Security income, but only from your Form W-2,
or Form SS-4 for all your Social Security income, but only from your Form 1099 (payable on a Friday, except holidays), Form 1099-DIV for all your foreign income and
For all your foreign income and Form 1099-MISC for Forms 1099-MISC if you're a U.S. resident not taxed in your country of residence.
What documents do I need to attach to my Form W-4?
I am applying for a job with a federal contractor, and I am also applying for my own business.
If you can attach a letter (and even if it's not a letter you wrote yourself) from your employer, you should submit it. (See the instructions in our sample letter for a list of letters you can include.) For more examples, see the Forms W-4 FAQ. What other evidence do I need if my wages exceed my income? If you earn more than the gross income or your income exceeds 1,000,000, you are a nonresident and must submit the following documents: Form W-8BEN (for a self-employed person), if more than half of your income will be taxed as self-employment; Form W-8BEN (for an individual or a person in a family of four), if you have income that makes up more than half of your income; and Form W-4C, if the total value of your interest in a partnership or sole proprietorship exceeds 250,000. You don't need to submit this document if you aren't subject to U.S. taxation; or.
Form W-8EC, if your income is below the amount on box 1, line 10(a) of the Form 1040 (or line 5a of Form 1040A). Form W-8EC also doesn't need to be filed even if you are a nonresident alien.
If you have no more than 300 in gross income, and you're submitting Form W-4 to file with your tax return, you can send a copy of Form W-8EC along with the appropriate return. This document is no longer required if your total gross receipts are below 300. (Read about filing Form W-8 under Other Information.) If you have less than 600 in gross income, and you're submitting Form W-4 to file with your tax return, you can send a copy of Form W-8EC along with the appropriate return. (For a list of form numbers for filing the tax forms listed above, see the Instructions for Forms W-4 & W-10.)
I'm a foreign citizen or resident alien filing Form W-4 and I make my living outside the United States. Should I file Form W-3A (U.S. Individual Income Tax Return)? What about a person who makes their living on foreign soil? No. Forms 8332 (or 8336) form U.S.
What are the different types of Form W-4?
How do they differ? Why would you need to use one form over the other?
Form W-4 is the standard form all workers are required to fill out if they have earned money. You can request your own Form W-4 at any time during the year. Many employers fill out the Form W-4 because there is no official way to calculate your salary due and the employer wants to make sure they provide the correct amount of money into your paychecks.
For a more in-depth explanation of how Form W-4 and pay stubs interact with each other, check out how Form W-4 and the W-2 work on this page.
1. What is a Form W-4 & Why would I need to fill it out?
Form W-4 is a standard employment document provided to all employers, even if they only provide services to workers. Form W--4 must be submitted each month to the employer, for the full year, to verify your income. There are many reasons why you would be required to fill out a Form W-4.
1.1. I'm an employer and have a full-time employee who just started work. Are you required to request a Form W-4 from the employee?
Yes. Form W-4 is required by federal law when making employment decisions for a new hire who isn't yet at the end of their first year of employment, nor are they eligible for a promotion, salary increase or new job.
1.2. I'm an employer and need to calculate an employee's income. Is there anything in the law you have to take into account for the purpose of calculating their income? Is it necessary to calculate their income every month?
Yes, but there are different rules when it comes to how to do so under federal law. Employers must request a Form W-4 from each new employee to determine their earnings for the year. In order for you to calculate their wages and determine their gross benefits, you have to use the most current, valid information provided to them under the law, even if you're making a mistake. Even if an employee can't provide as complete of information as you'd like, the law still requires you to apply your rules for the most current information, and that is generally based on the information they provide you when you request the Form W-4.
2.
How many people fill out Form W-4 each year?
The Department of Labor (DOL) estimates there are about 9.6 million Americans who fill out Form W-4 each year. (See Form W-4: 2018 Benefits for more information about the W-4 Form.) It's important to remember that an estimated 0.1 percent of all workers receive the maximum amount of benefits from social security, so the W-4 doesn't represent the entire population.
This is the same figure used by the Treasury to estimate that roughly 3.5 million people received ETC in 2016.
Note that there are many forms of tax code that do not include a question about income or employment, including the Social Security system (which requires more thorough documentation), the individual income tax, the employer and payroll taxes, and most state, and local government taxes. When it comes to employment income taxes, there is no equivalent to the W-4 form other than ETC, and the forms of taxes that do include this kind of data are:
FICA, which is a tax imposed on wages collected by employees. FICA was last assessed in 2014 and covers earnings between 118,500 and 208,400, indexed periodically for inflation.
Social Security, which is a tax collected on incomes exceeding 128,800. This income amount was increased from 128,800 in 2012 to 202,000 and indexed to inflation until 2023, at which point the annual wage cap was lifted.
The ETC, an earned income tax credit that is awarded depending upon the number of qualifying children and is a refundable tax credit.
Income Tax Credits & Inflation Adjusted Wages : Inflation-adjusted wages (including self-employment wages) have been used as a measure of earnings by the government for decades.
However, for the purposes of the new tax plan, earnings will be reduced to account for inflation, based on an estimate done in 2017. This means that someone who makes the minimum wage every month (a salary of 7.25 an hour) in 2017 will see her wages reduced to 7.25 an hour in 2018. Likewise, people making 13.00 an hour in 2018 will not experience their salaries being reduced to 10.13 an hour in 2019. But these wages are measured on a sliding scale, with the more you earn and the higher your wage cap is lowered, the more your income will have to be reduced to meet the inflation-adjusted earnings threshold.
Is there a due date for Form W-4?
When is the deadline for submitting the information on Form W-4? The IRS requires all employers, who receive Forms W-4 from their employees, to file the tax return electronically using the online system. Employers have to file the Form W-4 electronically (see the instructions for Form W-4 and Form W-4A). In addition, it is vital that employers provide all information required in the Forms W-4 within 10 business days of the date the employee files the Form W-4. If the IRS requires additional information on any given date beyond what is required by the Form W-4, the employer is liable for a penalty of 50% of the additional information (35 in 2009).