New W4 for 2020

There is a new W4 Form for 2020. It is not required for existing employees and employers should continue to use the existing withholding allowances and filing status for employees that filled out the old form.  But for those employees you hire after 12/31/2019, and for any employees who wants to adjust their withholding, the 2020 version is the only valid Form W-4.

The form is a lot different and may seem difficult but some say it is actually simpler.  However, folks may need details from last year’s tax return. I don’t know about you but it seems more complicated to me.

What is gone:
withholding allowances.
area to claim exemption from withholding.

What is new:
New filing status – Head of Household
Adjustment for multiple jobs and two-earner families
Full-year child and dependent tax credits
Full-year other (non-wage) income
Full-year deductions (over the standard deduction amount)

The only thing that did not change is the per-payroll additional amount to withhold.

For some pretty complete instruction on all the details here is a good article on Accounting Web

And here is a link to the IRS Income Tax Withholding Assistant for Employers

And the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator

And here is a link to the new W4 Form in PDF Format

And here is a good article on how to fill out the new W4 Form