Final 2020 W-4 Available

The final version of the 2020 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate (pdf) is now available on IRS.gov.

The new W-4 form better incorporates the changes ushered in by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allowing employees to more accurately estimate the amount of tax they ask their employers to withhold from their paychecks beginning in 2020. In addition, the goal of the new design is to balance simplicity, accuracy and privacy for employees while minimizing burden for employers and payroll processors.

A few of the visual changes that were made in the last draft shared include:

·         it is now a full page

·         there are no withholding allowances (which is why the title of the form changed to “Employee’s Withholding Certificate”)

·         steps 1 through 5 to guide employees through the form

·         instructions, worksheets, and tables follow the first page

Changes since the last draft include minor edits to verbiage, but more notably, on page 2, under “Your Privacy,” more language was added to help the taxpayer understand exactly what checking the box in step 2(c) may do to withholdings.

The IRS encourages all payroll professionals to become familiar with the new form now so that they can help employers and employees with proper withholding in 2020.

The new Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, to be released in mid-December for use with the new 2020 Form W-4, will provide the employer steps to figure federal withholding.

Go to About Form W-4 on IRS.gov for additional information.