The importance of the Form W-4 is fundamental to the payroll department. It is the foundation for the taxation of an employee’s paycheck as well as a required IRS form. Failure to handle the form correctly and completely can open the door to serious problems not only in properly withholding from the employee’s gross wages but could extend beyond the regulations and affect payroll customer service or employee morale. It can also lead to costly expenditures of time and budget resources to correct non-compliance consequences.

Questions arise in processing the forms almost daily in a payroll department. Is it a valid form? If not, what should payroll do to correct the problem? Did the employee check the box on Line 2c? Did the employee complete Step 4? These are the types of questions that must be answered to process the form completely and correctly. And it is not just the federal form that payroll must process; many states have their own version of the form and now do not permit use of the federal form for state tax withholding.

Session Highlights