U.S. government announces redesigned Form W-4

The U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS recently introduced a redesigned Form W-4 for tax year 2020.

Several changes were made to the draft form based on extensive feedback from stakeholders with the goal of developing a form that provides taxpayers with a more flexible and transparent withholding system, the department said in a news release.

The redesigned Form W-4 uses a building block approach that replaces complicated worksheets with straightforward questions that make it easier for employees to determine a more accurate withholding.

Employees who have submitted a Form W-4 in any year before 2020 are not required to submit a new form merely because of the redesign, the news release stated.

Employers will continue to compute withholding based on the information from the employee’s most recently submitted Form W-4, the announcement also said.

Treasury and the IRS are releasing this near-final improved Form W-4 now, to allow employers and payroll processors ample time to learn about the new form and update their systems for 2020.

The Treasury Department does not anticipate further changes to the redesign beyond minor updates for inflation.

For more, see treasury.gov on the web.