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.
The IRS has released the 2021 Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods, and the 2021 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate. The 2021 Form W-4 has few changes and is very similar to the 2020 Form W-4.
Publication 15-T describes how to figure federal income tax withholding using the percentage method and the wage bracket method and describes alternative methods for figuring withholding. The publication explains how to withhold income tax based on pre-2020 Forms W-4 and 2020 or later Forms W-4.
