Form W-4 for 2020 Updates: : What’s New? What’s Changed? - Best Practices & Compliance Requirements

This 90 minute webinar on "Form W-4 for 2020 Updates: : What’s New? What’s Changed? - Best Practices & Compliance Requirements" will talk about how Form W-4 has just seven lines but it is a fundamental part of the payroll process. In addition to information concerning the amount to withhold for income tax, the W-4 provides the employer with documentation of due diligence in soliciting employee name, Social Security Number, and address information. It is critical for penalty mitigation in the event the information is incorrect.

The Form provides a basis for the employee to have the correct amount of tax withheld, but if it is prepared incorrectly, the employee may be subject to penalties. While the employer is not responsible for assuring the correctness of the employee's claims, the employer is responsible for due diligence with regard to invalid forms and withholding according to the employee instructions provided by the form.

Join this session by expert speaker Patrick A. Haggerty, where he will discuss the function and requirements of Form W-4 and how the information it provides is critical to the payroll process as well as how to avoid problems and identify and correct problems such as invalid or improperly filled out forms and errors in processing. It will also discuss the proper handling of special situations and requirements such as exemption from withholding and nonresident alien W-4 Forms.

While Form W-4 has only seven information lines, the information contained on the Form is critical to the payroll process. Failures at the employer end can lead to compliance and employee morale issues with regard to amounts withheld, timely processing, and incorrect information returns. Employers may be held liable or penalized for incorrect withholding where the employer failed to solicit or timely process the forms or fails to withhold according to the information provided on the forms. This webinar will provide information currently available on the proposed revisions to Form W-4 for 2020.

The main features of the webinar include the following:

• The legal requirement that the employer withhold income tax from employee compensation
• Form W-4 line by line including the information to be included by the employee and entries that can cause the form to be invalid, the special instructions for nonresident aliens, state withholding certificates and certificates of non-residency, and effective dates for new and revised W-4 information
• When an employee must submit a new W-4 and when an employee may submit a new W-4
• Requirements for electronic W-4 Forms
• Understand the employer’s legal obligation to withhold tax.
• Know what must or must not be included on each line of Form W-4 and how to identify invalid Forms.
• Understand the importance of SSN verification and how to include it in the payroll process.
• Know how to deal with special problems and situations related to Form W-4 such as non-resident alien forms, lock-in letters, and invalid and questionable employee submissions
• Be aware of the penalties for non-compliance and how to mitigate or avoid the penalties by following due diligence procedures that establish reasonable cause
• Know the record retention requirements

This webcast will be of a valuable assistance to the below audience.

• Payroll Professional
• Public Accountants
• Internal Auditors
• Internal Auditors
• Enrolled Agents
• Employee Benefits Administrators
• Officers and Managers with Payroll or Tax Compliance Oversight
• Company / Business Owners
• Managers/ Supervisors
• Public Agency Managers
• Audit and Compliance Personnel
• Risk Managers