{"id":703,"date":"2017-07-04T19:17:11","date_gmt":"2017-07-04T19:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/?p=703"},"modified":"2021-11-22T18:33:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-22T18:33:24","slug":"employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/","title":{"rendered":"Employment Form W-4 Advice: Don\u2019t Cross the Line When Instructing Employees"},"content":{"rendered":"Hiring new employees means a lot of paperwork \u2014 for you and for them. Among the new hire forms, one you can\u2019t overlook is the required IRS employment tax form W-4.\r\n\r\nIn a rush to get through it all, you may be tempted to streamline the process by helping employees with the form \u2014 or even completing it altogether. But beware. You can\u2019t overstep the boundaries between complying with IRS requirements and providing W-4 advice \u2014 especially regarding exemptions from withholding.\r\n\r\nSo where do you draw the line?\r\n<h2>Inform but don\u2019t advise on employee withholding<\/h2>\r\nAs a small business owner, you have a responsibility to collect and pay employment taxes to the IRS. But employees have an equal responsibility to ensure their tax-related information is correct. That includes providing accurate withholding information on the W-4.\r\n<div class=\"greenBorderTipBox\">\r\n<div class=\"gbTitle\">AN EMPLOYEE FILLING OUT A W-4 FORM ALLOWS HIM\/HER TO CLAIM ALLOWANCES FOR THINGS SUCH AS:<\/div>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Dependents<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Tax credits<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Filing as head of household<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nEach allowance reduces the amount you withhold from an employee\u2019s paycheck.\r\n\r\nIf an employee comes to you with questions (which he\/she most likely will), keep in mind the limits. You can assist the employee, but completing a W-4 altogether is illegal. Also, employees must fill out and sign their own W-4 forms.\r\n<div class=\"smartTip row\">\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-md-12 col-xs-12 \"><img id=\"SmartTip\" class=\"img-responsive\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/hrdirectapps\/images\/did-you-know.jpg\" \/><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-xs-12 smartTipContent\">An employee must sign and date the W-4, or it will be invalid.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<strong>Remember:<\/strong> You can help a new hire by explaining the W-4 form and providing information about the choices, but you should not influence the worker\u2019s responses. The employee is ultimately responsible for the allowances he\/she claims.\r\n\r\nAlthough you can\u2019t influence how an employee completes the W-4, you can respond to the following questions as follows:\r\n<h3>1. \u201cCan I choose complete tax exemption?\u201d<\/h3>\r\nYou must meet specific IRS criteria to claim tax exemption. In general, this means you can be claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer and you received a full refund last year (or expect to receive a full refund this year) due to no tax liability.\r\n<h3>2. \u201cHow do allowances work?\u201d<\/h3>\r\nBasically, the fewer allowances you claim, the more federal income tax withheld from your paycheck. In turn, the higher the number of allowances, the less federal income tax withheld.\r\n<h3>3. \u201cCan I change my W-4?\u201d<\/h3>\r\nYes. You can update your W-4 forms for a variety of personal or financial reasons, such as marriage, divorce, a change in dependents or a significant salary increase. Unlike with health insurance with open enrollment restrictions, you can change your W-4 as often as you\u2019d like throughout the year.\r\n<h2>Tackle incomplete or missing W-4 forms<\/h2>\r\nWhat should you do if the employee doesn\u2019t complete or sign the W-4 in a timely manner? Ideally, you would not have a new employee start work until you receive a completed W-4. If an employee delays completing a W-4 for some reason, you should withhold taxes as though the employee is single with no allowances.\r\n\r\nThe IRS no longer requires employers to send copies of questionable W-4 forms (such as those claiming more than 10 allowances). Furthermore, it\u2019s not your responsibility to verify the accuracy of any information an employee provides on the W-4.\r\n\r\nIf a payroll cycle passes and the employee has ignored your requests for a completed W-4, you may consider taking action. That might include suspending the employee until you receive the completed form. Consult a legal advisor for suggestions on how to best address the problem.\r\n<div class=\"greenBorderTipBox\">\r\n<div class=\"gbTitle\">Compliance Tip:<\/div>\r\nHave new employees complete the W-4 before their first day of work. You won\u2019t have to worry about chasing the form down later.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Simplify the process<\/h2>\r\nYou can simplify the entire process of getting W-4s from new employees, as well as managing updates when employees have changes to report, with a dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/i-9-and-w-4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">I-9 &amp; W-4 app<\/a>. This online tool makes it easy for employees to complete their W-4s independently and in a timely manner.\r\n<div class=\"greenBorderTipBox\">\r\n<div class=\"gbTitle\">KEY TAKEAWAYS<\/div>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Filling out W-4 forms for your employees is not legally permitted<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Ensure employees sign their own W-4 forms<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Offer instructions but not advice<\/li>\r\n \t<li>The employee is responsible for supplying the information on the W-4 form<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Have the employee update the W-4 whenever his or her status or income changes. Employees can request to update their W-4s at any time.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"row ebook-banner\">\r\n<div class=\"col-md-5 col-md-offset-1 img-container\"><img src=\"\/img\/who-has-time-to-manage-hr-ebook.png\" alt=\"Who Has Time to Manage HR E-Book\" \/><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"col-md-6 content\">\r\n<div class=\"lima-green\">Free E-Book<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"science-blue\">Who Has Time to <span class=\"no-break\">Manage HR?<\/span> <span class=\"no-break\"><em>You Do!<\/em><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"bismark\">Here&#8217;s How to Handle It <span class=\"no-break\">Like A Pro<\/span><\/div>\r\n<a class=\"btn cta-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/resources\/who-has-time-to-manage-hr\/?itm_source_s=blog&amp;itm_medium_s=banner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn How<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hiring new employees means a lot of paperwork \u2014 for you and for them. Among the new hire forms, one you can\u2019t overlook is the required IRS employment tax form W-4. In a rush to get through it all, you may be tempted to streamline the process by helping employees with the form \u2014 or&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/\" class=\"readMore\">read&nbsp;more<\/a>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":800,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[19,34,33],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Inform But Do Not Give Employees W-4 Advice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tempted to help new hires w\/ w-4 forms \u2013 or complete it for them? Beware. You can assist employees, but giving w4 advice or filling it out for them is illegal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Employment Form W-4 Advice: Don\u2019t Cross the Line When Instructing Employees\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tempted to help new hires w\/ w-4 forms \u2013 or complete it for them? Beware. You can assist employees, but giving w4 advice or filling it out for them is illegal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Valuable HR Blog Topics for Small Business Owners and HR Professionals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-04T19:17:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-22T18:33:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Dont-Cross-The-Line-Inform-But-Do-Not-Give-Employees-W4-Advice.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1174\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"527\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shanna Wall\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Valuable HR Blog Topics for Small Business Owners and HR Professionals\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Dont-Cross-The-Line-Inform-But-Do-Not-Give-Employees-W4-Advice.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Dont-Cross-The-Line-Inform-But-Do-Not-Give-Employees-W4-Advice.jpg\",\"width\":1174,\"height\":527,\"caption\":\"In a rush, you may be tempted to help employees with the w-4 form. But be aware that providing w4 advice - especially regarding exemptions from withholding can be illegal.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/\",\"name\":\"Inform But Do Not Give Employees W-4 Advice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-04T19:17:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-22T18:33:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f5f958bc88ec18be079328c872d41a0\"},\"description\":\"Tempted to help new hires w\/ w-4 forms \u2013 or complete it for them? Beware. You can assist employees, but giving w4 advice or filling it out for them is illegal.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Employment Form W-4 Advice: Don\u2019t Cross the Line When Instructing Employees\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f5f958bc88ec18be079328c872d41a0\",\"name\":\"Shanna Wall\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3582f26a4d750306e29b95bfa8d24b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3582f26a4d750306e29b95bfa8d24b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shanna Wall\"},\"description\":\"Shanna supports legal research and content for the product development of next generation HR\/compliance solutions at ComplyRight. Since graduating from St. Thomas University, School of Law, Shanna has practiced law for 8 years. She is a licensed attorney in Florida and Illinois. Her background also includes B2B sales and marketing as well as firsthand experience as a small business owner. FUN FACT: Shanna\u2019s all-time favorite sports team is the St. Louis Cardinals.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/author\/swall\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Inform But Do Not Give Employees W-4 Advice","description":"Tempted to help new hires w\/ w-4 forms \u2013 or complete it for them? Beware. You can assist employees, but giving w4 advice or filling it out for them is illegal.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Employment Form W-4 Advice: Don\u2019t Cross the Line When Instructing Employees","og_description":"Tempted to help new hires w\/ w-4 forms \u2013 or complete it for them? Beware. You can assist employees, but giving w4 advice or filling it out for them is illegal.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/","og_site_name":"Valuable HR Blog Topics for Small Business Owners and HR Professionals","article_published_time":"2017-07-04T19:17:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-11-22T18:33:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1174,"height":527,"url":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Dont-Cross-The-Line-Inform-But-Do-Not-Give-Employees-W4-Advice.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shanna Wall","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/","name":"Valuable HR Blog Topics for Small Business Owners and HR Professionals","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Dont-Cross-The-Line-Inform-But-Do-Not-Give-Employees-W4-Advice.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Dont-Cross-The-Line-Inform-But-Do-Not-Give-Employees-W4-Advice.jpg","width":1174,"height":527,"caption":"In a rush, you may be tempted to help employees with the w-4 form. But be aware that providing w4 advice - especially regarding exemptions from withholding can be illegal."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/","name":"Inform But Do Not Give Employees W-4 Advice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2017-07-04T19:17:11+00:00","dateModified":"2021-11-22T18:33:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f5f958bc88ec18be079328c872d41a0"},"description":"Tempted to help new hires w\/ w-4 forms \u2013 or complete it for them? Beware. You can assist employees, but giving w4 advice or filling it out for them is illegal.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/employment-form-w-4-advice-dont-cross-the-line-when-instructing-employees\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Employment Form W-4 Advice: Don\u2019t Cross the Line When Instructing Employees"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f5f958bc88ec18be079328c872d41a0","name":"Shanna Wall","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3582f26a4d750306e29b95bfa8d24b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cf3582f26a4d750306e29b95bfa8d24b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shanna Wall"},"description":"Shanna supports legal research and content for the product development of next generation HR\/compliance solutions at ComplyRight. Since graduating from St. Thomas University, School of Law, Shanna has practiced law for 8 years. She is a licensed attorney in Florida and Illinois. Her background also includes B2B sales and marketing as well as firsthand experience as a small business owner. FUN FACT: Shanna\u2019s all-time favorite sports team is the St. Louis Cardinals.","url":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/author\/swall\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5266,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703\/revisions\/5266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hrdirectapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}