A wrong or missing W-4

Income tax is withheld from the employee's Form W-4. Without a valid one, the employer withholds at a default rate.

What happens if an employee has no valid Form W-4?

The employer withholds federal income tax as if the employee were single, with no adjustments (26 CFR § 31.3402(f)(2)-1). StartEase will not approve a payroll until each W-4 is approved, unless none was received.

The problem

The employer must withhold federal income tax using the employee's Form W-4. When there is no valid form, federal rules tell the employer to withhold as if the employee were single with no adjustments. Too little or too much withheld shows up later as notices and unhappy employees.

How StartEase manages it

• Payroll cannot be approved until each employee's W-4 is approved by the payroll team, unless none was received.
• When no valid W-4 was received, you tick that on the employee record. StartEase then withholds as single with no adjustments and says so in the payroll.
• Employees fill in their own W-4 in the portal and upload the signed form. See Form W-4: what it is and how it is approved.