What's with the new W-4 Forms?!

[WinniWoman]

So my son called me this evening saying he didn't know how to fill in a W4 form his part-time job boss gave him. As he proceeded to describe it, it was totally foreign to me so he sent me a photo of it. What the?!!

Upon further investigation his boss probably should not have given it to him because it is not required if you already have an older one on file. But maybe he gave him a new one because the company name had changed a little bit. He is going to ask him.

Anyway, I told him being it is a low paying part-time job and he does not know what his income will be anyway to just sign it. As for his full time job they hopefully will not ask for a new one as he has been there for years now and actually he just adjusted his last year with a new one, claiming an extra dependent to have more money taken out and it worked well for him this year with a small refund.

I did tell him if his full time employer wants a 2020 one, then he has to go on line to the IRS calculator to figure out what additional money should be taken out of his check, as now these new forms are based on the standard deduction and not the claiming of "dependents", as in Married 1, Single 2, etc. I would help him with it if he has to do it.

OMG. Again- what do the stupid or ignorant people do? Really- do a flat tax, do away with filing taxes (and the IRS) and call it a day. It is getting ridiculous.

 

[Talent312]

I think those folk simply stay with what they did the year before.
But many folk seem to think "refunds" are a magical windfall.
What they fail to appreciate is that it means they paid in too much.

For my (taxable) pension, there's a W-4P which I can change online.
I can go online and amend my W-4P at any time. It's terribly convenient.
I changed it twice last year.

 

[WinniWoman]

I think those folk simply stay the course, if it worked for them last year.
But many seem to think "refunds" are a magical windfall.
What they don't realize is that it means they gave IRS too much.

For my (taxable) pension, there's a W-4P which I can change online.
I can go online an amend my W-4P at any time. It's terribly convenient.
I changed it twice last year.

Well in many cases it will not work for them this year and they will be in for a big surprise when/ if they either owe money at the end of the year or they have a lot more being taken out of their check this year. This form forces people to calculate the dollar amount they want taken out of their check in federal taxes (I have no idea how state taxes are handled now) and put that number on the form.

 

[SmithOp]

All he has to do is check Single at the top, and sign at the bottom, its that simple.

It was updated to align with the new calculator.




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[WinniWoman]

All he has to do is check Single at the top, and sign at the bottom, its that simple.

It was updated to align with the new calculator.




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Yes. That is what he is doing for this part time job. But if his full time employer requests a new one to be filled out then I am thinking he will have to do the calculations because in 2018 he owed money just claiming S 1. So he adjusted it to S 0 for 2019 and got a small refund. He always takes the standard deduction when filing.

 

[Cornell]

IRS.gov has a calculator to use for this - it's really very simple.

 

[turkel]

We just went to our CPA to complete our taxes. She recommended not filing a new w-4. She said it was far more complicated than prior W-4 forms.

 

[SmithOp]

We just went to our CPA to complete our taxes. She recommended not filing a new w-4. She said it was far more complicated than prior W-4 forms.

That seems patronizing, its a simple form!

The TCJA of 2017 eliminated personal exemptions and doubled the standard deduction. The new form reflects that change.


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[Cornell]

That seems patronizing, its a simple form!

The TCJA of 2017 eliminated personal exemptions and doubled the standard deduction. The new form reflects that change.


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Completely agree. I just filled this out recently via the calculator and it's really very simple. And -- if you are filling out the W4 and your income / tax situation hasn't changed much from prior years , just look up what you had to pay in taxes the previous year and adjust accordingly.

 

[MULTIZ321]

How to Fill Out Form W-4

How to Fill Out Form W-4

How you fill out Form W-4 determines how much your employer withholds for taxes. You need to get it right so you don’t end up overpaying or underpaying.

www.investopedia.com

Richard

 

[turkel]

That seems patronizing, its a simple form!

The TCJA of 2017 eliminated personal exemptions and doubled the standard deduction. The new form reflects that change.


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Could be. I inherited her when I got married. I used to do my own taxes. Hubby can’t be bothered. My prior withholding was not the issue.

 

[WinniWoman]

IRS.gov has a calculator to use for this - it's really very simple.

It’s somewhat simple but imagine if you are not of the mental capacity to handle it. Your average person would not understand it. I barely do.

 

[bbodb1]

I saw this thread earlier but I was trying to recall an email that came from our payroll folks...
They were suggesting (I think) that the withholding amounts might have changed again so they were encouraging everyone to run their numbers to double check their withholding was still at the level desired....

Is that accurate? I am thinking back to a withholding change a couple of years ago - one the decreased the amount of money withheld even if you did not change your exemptions....