Filing Form W-4 and Address Change

The following excerpts from the Internal Revenue Code outline the obligation of both the employer and the employee with regard to filing form W-4 for tax withholding.  To insure correct withholding each employee should review their status annually and submit a new W-4 only if necessary.

§4010 Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate (Form W-4) - An employer must have each new employee fill out a Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate.  On this form, the employee shows his or her tax filing status, (married or single) and the number of withholding allowances claimed.  The employer uses the information provided on the form to calculate the amount of federal income tax to be withheld from the employee's wages.  An employee's Form W-4 should go into effect with the first payment of wages to the employee.  If the employee will not complete a Form W-4, the employer should withhold from the employee's wages as if he or she had filled out the form as a single person claiming no allowances {Treas. Reg. §31.3102(f)(2)-1(a)].

ORIGINALS ONLY.  The employer should require only an original Form W-4.  It should not withhold tax based on photocopies, facsimiles, or verbal instructions from the employee.

§4310 Employee Penalties - Employees, as well as employers, may be held civilly and criminally liable for violations of provisions of the Internal Revenue code.  An employee who willfully supplies a false or fraudulent information statement (e.g., Form W-4) to his or her employer or who willfully fails to supply information that would require an increase in the amount of tax to be withheld from wages is, in addition to any other penalty, subject to a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment for up to one year or both [IRC Reg.§7205].

Paper copies of the appropriate employee withholding certificate (Form W-4/MW507, Form W-4/D-4 and/or Form WV/IT-104) are available on this web site.  Employees are reminded that subsequent changes to already existing W-4 information may be submitted electronically via the Payroll Online Service Center (POSC).

Important note:  If only an address change is required, a W-4 form is not necessary.  Employees may use the Payroll Address Form as found on this web site or submit electronically via the Payroll Online Service Center (POSC).

Keeping Central Payroll Bureau and your personnel office informed of your current address will speed delivery of your W-2 and any other important information.

We hope this information is helpful.  Employees with unique filing requirements are advised to call or visit their local IRS office or the offices of the Comptroller of Maryland for assistance.  For your convenience we have listed the following web site addresses -

Comptroller of Maryland - www.marylandtaxes.com

State of West Virginia - www.state.wv.us/taxrev/withholding.html

District of Columbia - www.dc.gov

Internal Revenue Service - www.irs.gov