Form W-4 withholding

[ChEAr$]

Two requirements

for a valid exempt W4: no tax liability last year AND expect no tax liability for this year. The employer has payroll records year to date at hand and can readily determine this, at least for a single wage earner with nothing exotic like K1s with
losses.

anyway, as DSI said, the employee gave in. Do you reckon he wanted to stay
employed in these days of precarious employment?

[JG EA]

Invalid W-4 -See Pub 15

A W-4 is not invalid unless it is filled out wrong.

It is not the employers job to ask if they are intitled to Exempt Status. If they had no tax liability the previous year, etc. that is not the emloyer's business.

There is no requirement to send to the IRS. If the IRS notifies the employer, then action is taken. There is a requirement to get a new W-4 in the new year when the previous year was exempt.

If the employee get more back in his paycheck this would not have a motive of reducing child support. The more he gets back the more will be taken away if based on a percentage. Child support is taken from the disposable net.

All that being said if the W-4 is wrong in some way (having M 5 and also exempt for instance) then the employer asks for a correct one. If the employer doesn't get one then he withholds at S-0.

[JohnH]

I'd tell him I'm going to ignore the W-4 and withhold at Single-Zero. If he won't support his kids, somebody's got to hold him accountable.

[veritas]

nice to know

he has his priorities in order. The employee that is.

The feds don't require the w4 be sent in, But the state might.

[dsi]

Why did he want to claim exempt you ask? He owes back child support and didn't want it to affect his year end refund.

[dsi]

Thanks for the response BB. The employee gave in and changed his withholding.

[Black Bart]

Here's

An employee wants to claim "exempt" from withholding on his W-4. The employer knows the employee does not meet the requirements to claim exempt, but the employee refuses to change his W-4. Doesn't the employer have to send a copy of the W-4 to the IRS?

an IRS instruction that says withhold at single/zero, but it doesn't mention sending in the W-4. http://www.irs.gov/govt/tribes/artic...180596,00.html

I guess whether or not they send it in to give themselves some extra cover would depend:

1. Does the employer want/need to keep the person on? It would probably kill the job if IRS responded.
2. If push comes to shove with IRS, will employee "take the rap" and not try to drag the employer into it? (If it's any of my relatives, don't believe a word they say.) Exempt status is not that unusual and it's a long shot that anything would ever come of it in this era of diminished withholdings UNLESS...the guy's a professional deadbeat, IRS hits him with a huge bill, and he claims "I thought my employer was withholding correctly, they SHOULD have, and that "Exempt" form is a mistake. THEY advised me to do it like that, you should collect from THEM..., etc., etc., etc.".

I think I'd just go single-zero and let him/her like it or lump it (walk) if I could do without 'em.

[dsi]

An employee wants to claim "exempt" from withholding on his W-4. The employer knows the employee does not meet the requirements to claim exempt, but the employee refuses to change his W-4. Doesn't the employer have to send a copy of the W-4 to the IRS?