2020 W-4 Federal tax withholding information

The 2020 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, is very different from previous versions. This is due to the federal tax law changes that took place in 2018.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is not requiring all employees to complete the revised form and has designed the withholding tables so that they will work with both the new and prior year forms.

However, only those employees hired in 2020 and anyone who makes withholding changes during 2020 will be required to use the new form. Please note: if you do not submit a new form, withholding will continue based on your previously submitted form.

Even though the IRS does not require all employees to complete the revised form and even if your tax situation has not changed, we recommend you perform a “paycheck checkup” to see if you need to make adjustments to your current withholding. To conduct the checkup, you can use the IRS’s Tax Withholding Estimator (www.irs.gov/W4App).  It is likely that the estimator will be updated to account for the 2020 tax tables in early January.

Before completing the 2020 Form W-4, please read the instructions that are included with the form. You must complete Steps 1 and 5. 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.

The IRS has also published Frequently Asked Questions that you may find helpful as you complete the form:
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-on-the-draft-2020-form-w-4