As 2016 comes to a close, we encourage you to remind your employees to review their W-4 information and submit a revise W-4 if they have any changes. Some reasons why employees should review their W-4 information include changes in withholding allowances, marital status, home address, name and to verify their Social Security number is correct.
While employees may update their W-4 any time during the year, employees whose withholding allowances have decreased or marital status has changed from “married” to “single” must provide their employer with a new W-4 within 10 days of the change.
Employees who claimed “Exempt” in 2016 have until February 15, 2017 to file an amended W-4. If the employee fails to provide a new W-4 by February 15, the employer will either:
– Use the marital status and number of allowances found on the most recent W-4 form that was submitted before the W-4 form claiming Exemption, or
– Treat the employee as if no W-4 was submitted and use Single Status with Zero allowances.
When an amended W-4 is submitted, it is a “Best Practice” to make the change for the employee on the next scheduled payroll. However, employers must enter the changes no later than the start of the 1st payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from the date you received the revised form.
If you have any questions about W-4 forms or payroll, please contact Compass to speak with one of our HR Business Partners.
