What are tax withholding forms?

Smart Onboarding requires New Hires to complete three basic tax withholding forms for U.S. payroll: Federal Tax Withholding (Form W-4), Work Location Tax Withholding, and Residence Tax Withholding.

These forms are regularly updated to reflect changes published for the Federal W-4 and state tax forms. They will not appear in the New Hire's onboarding flow if the work or residence address is outside the USA.

How do you complete tax withholding forms?

Federal Tax Withholding 

The form for the Federal Tax Withholding is provided below:

Select one Marital Status option in Step 1(c).

Complete Steps 2-4 if applicable. In Step 4, tax withholding adjustments allow you to enter amounts in decimals, as shown below.

After completing the form, check the confirmation box and click "Electronically Sign".

If you qualify for an exemption from federal withholding, check the box under "Exemption from Federal Withholding" in Step 4. This will hide the fields in Step 3 (Claim Dependents) and Step 4 (Other Adjustments).

To complete the form, check the acknowledgment box and click the "Electronically Sign" button.

If "Exempt" is selected, the following error message will appear when signing the form. Click "Yes" to confirm the "EXEMPT" status. To return to the previous page and update the tax data, click "No".

After completing the activity, you can download the signed form by clicking the "Download Signed Forms" gadget located at the bottom right corner of the page.

State Tax Withholding

The information that needs to be entered varies depending on the state where the employee works or resides. Some states have their own version of the State Form W-4, while others use the Federal Form W-4. Additionally, certain states do not have income tax, and as a result, this activity will not appear in the New Hire's onboarding flow for employees working or residing in those states. The states with no income tax are listed in the following sections.

Please click here to view the states that have state-specific tax W-4 forms.

Work Location Tax Withholding

Based on the New Hire's work location state, the corresponding state's tax withholding form will appear in this activity.

In this example, the work state is North Carolina, so the North Carolina State form is displayed. The form includes the New Hire's personal information (name, home address, and Social Security Number) pre-populated from the invitation data and the Employee Information activity.

To complete the form, the New Hire must enter all applicable information. After entering the tax details, check the acknowledgment box and click the "Electronically Sign" button.

After completing the activity, you can download the signed form by clicking the "Download Signed Forms" icon located at the bottom right corner of the page.

The printable format of the form displays as below:

Residence Location Tax Withholding

The information that needs to be entered varies based on the employee's state of residence. If the employee's residence state does not have state income tax, or if the residence state is the same as the work state, this activity will not appear in the New Hire's workflow. For a list of states without income tax, refer to the following sections.

In this example, the residence state is California. The New Hire must enter all relevant information that applies to them.

If the Filing Status or Marital Status is left blank, the following error message displays on the page.

Enter allowances or exemptions as applicable. If both fields are left blank, the following error message will appear on the page.

The allowances entered in 1a and 1b will total in 1c. You cannot directly enter a value in 1c, as this field is not editable.

The value in 1a is mandatory. If 1b is left blank, the value entered in 1a will appear in 1c.

If invalid values are entered in 1a or 1b, the following error message will appear on the page.

Entering '0' is also considered a valid entry in 1a.

If an exemption is applicable, select checkbox #3 or #4.

If an exemption from withholding (option #3 or #4) is selected, the other fields (#1 and #2) will become non-editable, as shown below:

When an exemption is entered, the following warning message will appear on the page during the electronic signing of the form. Click "Yes" on the message to proceed with submitting the form.

If you want to navigate back and make changes to the form, click the "No" option.

The following message confirms that your form is not saved, allowing you to revise your entries. Close the message and make the necessary changes to your form.

Make any necessary changes to your entries, and then sign the form. If you have selected option #3 or #4, you will see the confirmation message regarding tax exemption again. Choose "Yes" to complete the process and proceed to the next activity, or select "No" to return to the form and make further changes.

The tax data entered on the tax forms can be edited until the forms are submitted to HR. Before completing the "Submit to HR" activity, you can revise the forms and make any necessary corrections.

To edit the forms, click the "Edit" button located at the bottom of the respective form. For more details on editing the form, please refer to "Can you edit the tax forms that are already completed?" section.

When Residence/Work Location state is one of the territory states - Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa

Federal and State taxes will be bypassed if the candidate's work or residence state is one of the following U.S. territories: Guam (GU), Virgin Islands (VI), or American Samoa (AS).

This means that if any of these territory states is selected as the residence or work location, the Federal and State tax withholding forms will not appear in the payroll activities of the New Hire onboarding process.

Note: If the system is integrated with the HRMS database, the tax data will not be pushed to the HRMS database upon system updates for employees whose residence or work state is GU, VI, or AS.

A few examples are provided below:

Example 1: When Residence State = California, Work State = Guam

Tax Forms do not show in New Hire's payroll activities.

Example 2: When Residence State = U.S. Virgin Island, Work State = California

Tax Forms do not show in New Hire's payroll activities.

Example 3: When  Residence State = American Samoa, Work State = Guam

Tax Forms do not show in New Hire's payroll activities.

Example 4: When Residence State = Texas, Work State = Guam

Tax Forms do not show in New Hire's payroll activities.

Example 5: When Residence State = Virgin Islands, Work State = Florida

Tax Forms do not show in New Hire's payroll activities.

How to download Tax Withholding forms?

To download the unsigned attachment of the Tax Withholding form, click on the 'Download Document(s)' gadget provided at the right bottom corner of the page.

The tax form downloads in a new window. A sample form is provided below.

Once the form is electronically signed, it can be downloaded by clicking the 'Download Signed Forms' gadget.

The signed form downloads in a new window. As ample form is provided below.

What states do not have state income tax?

The following states do not have a state income tax:

• Alaska
• Florida
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Washington
• Wyoming
• Pennsylvania

As a result, the Work Location Tax Withholding and Residence Tax Withholding forms will not appear in the payroll activities for employees working or residing in these states.

If both the residence and work location of the New Hire are from this list, neither the Work Location Tax Withholding form nor the Residence Tax Withholding form will be included in the New Hire's onboarding process.

Example: Residence State = Texas, Work State = Florida

Only the Federal Tax Withholding form is displayed in the New Hire's payroll activities. State tax withholding forms are not available because there is no income tax in either the residence or work states.

If either the residence or work location state of the New Hire has taxes, the corresponding Work Location Tax Withholding form or Residence Tax Withholding form will be included in the New Hire's onboarding process.

Example: Residence State = California, Work State = Florida

In this example, since "California" is the residence state with state taxes, and "Florida" is the work state with no state tax, only the Residence Tax Withholding form is available in the New Hire's onboarding process.

What states use the Federal Form W-4 for state tax purposes?

The following U.S. states use the Federal Form W-4 for state income tax purposes:

• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Utah

Note: Prior to 2022, Colorado also used the Federal W-4 form for state tax withholding. However, starting in 2022, a new Colorado Employee Withholding Certificate (Form DR 0004) is available for Colorado state tax purposes.

To access the above state tax forms, please click here.

Can you edit the tax forms that have already been completed?

The completed tax forms can be edited until the New Hire's process is submitted to HR. Before clicking "Submit to HR," the candidate can revise the forms and make any necessary corrections.

To edit the form, click the "Edit Form" button located at the bottom of the completed form.

This will open the form in edit mode. Make the necessary changes, then click the checkbox to certify the updates and select "Electronically Sign".

If you want to retain the old values, click the "Cancel Edit" button. This will cancel the editing process and display the completed activity page in read-only mode.