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County of San Bernardino
TAX WITHHOLDING FORMS
The Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificates are the federal Form W-4 and California Form DE 4. These documents are used to inform employers of an employee’s marital status and the number of allowances they are claiming for withholding purposes. The employer uses this information and the federal and state withholding tables to determine the amount of income tax to withhold.
REFERENCES
Treasury Regulation § 31.
FORM W-4 FEDERAL WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE CERTIFICATE
MANDATORY FIELDS
Name; Social Security Number; Home Address; Status, Withholding Allowances; Employee Signature; Date
GENERAL INFORMATION
Note: Submit tax withholding forms for current pay period only.
Every new employee must complete a Form W-4. If a Form W-4 is not completed, the tax withholding will default to Single and Zero.
Employees, who need to change their current Federal withholding status or number of allowances, must complete a new Form W-4. Information provided on the W-4 also affects State withholding unless the employee completes California State Form DE 4.
Employees, who want to claim a different marital status, number of allowances, and/or additional withholding than claimed for Federal purposes, must complete a California State Form DE 4.
Employees who claim exemption from withholding must submit a new Form W-4 each year by February 15th. If a Form W-4 is not completed, the tax withholding will default to Single and Zero.
Note: It is important that employees understand their W-4 information will affect the amount of taxes due when filing their personal income tax returns.
If an employee’s personal situation changes to increase the number of withholding allowances to which they are entitled (marriage, children, etc.), they may wish to reflect those changes by filing a new Form W-4. If, the number of withholding allowances to which they are entitled falls below the number claimed on the Form W-4 (i.e. divorce, death, child is no longer a dependent), the employee must complete a new Form W-4 within 10 days of the event. In no event should the employee exceed the number of allowances to which they are entitled.
Complete instructions are attached to the form. Changes to the preprinted information are not permitted. Any alterations to the preprinted certificate will void the form. However, if the employee makes an error, that error can be corrected and initialed by the employee. The form must be completed in ink or typed. If printed, the information must be legible. Any questionable numbers will be rejected.
Each year EMACS/Payroll will order new W-4’s for department use. If you do not have a current supply of forms, the prior year forms can still be used, however, the worksheet information will not be valid and the employee must not alter the form. Current year forms may be downloaded from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Internet site at www.irs.gov.
The name on the Form W-4 must match the employee’s name in EMACS. This form must be completed after any name change appears in EMACS.
The withholding status “Married but withhold at the higher single rate”, defaults to the Single rate. The amount of income tax withholding must be based on the filing status and withholding allowances stated on the Form W-4. The employee may not base their withholding amount on a fixed dollar amount or percentage. However, the employee may specify a dollar amount to be withheld in addition to the amount of withholding based on filing status and withholding allowances claimed on Form W-4. Refer to Additional Tax Withholding below.
Departments may indicate the pay period in which the employee would like a Form W-4 to be processed (such as pay period 06/02), however, the form must be received in EMACS/Payroll by the deadline date or it may not be worked.
Any changes to the Form W-4 after it has been submitted must also be received by deadline. To ensure that the correct Form W-4 is processed, a routing slip and explanation should be attached for clarity.
A Job Action Request (JAR) form is not necessary when a current employee is making changes to tax withholdings.
EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES
COMPLETING THE FORM W-
PERSONAL ALLOWANCE, DEDUCTIONS AND ADJUSTMENTS, AND TWO-EARNER/TWO-JOB
WORKSHEETS
The worksheets on the 1st^ or 2nd^ page of the form may be used to determine the number of tax withholding allowances and any additional amount to be withheld from each warrant/advice. Enter each amount on the appropriate line.
MARITAL STATUS
The Marital Status indicated on Form W-4 will be used for both Federal and State income tax withholding. If the employee wants a different value for State withholding, a Form DE 4 must be submitted.
TOTAL NUMBER OF ALLOWANCES
Total number of allowances must be indicated on the appropriate line unless claiming EXEMPT. Refer to Exemption From Withholding below. If claiming zero, a “Ø” must be entered on the “Total number of allowances” line. Note: Leaving this field blank does not designate a zero withholding amount.
If claiming EXEMPT , the total number of allowances line must be blank.
ADDITIONAL TAX WITHHOLDING
If requesting to withhold additional taxes in excess of what is calculated based upon withholding status, allowances, and earnings, indicate dollar amount in this section. If the additional amount is for Federal taxation purposes only, a Form De 4 must also be completed specifying the additional amount for California withholding. Otherwise, the amount indicated on the Form W-4 will be withheld for both Federal and State purposes. Note: If claiming EXEMPT, this line must be blank.
MULTIPLE POSITION EMPLOYEES – ADDITIONAL TAX WITHHOLDING
Employees who report time in more than one position per pay period will receive more than one check if the positions are in different companies, pay groups or benefit programs.
Positions in the Same Company
EMACS will create a separate warrant/advice for each of an employee’s positions if the positions are in different pay groups and/or benefit programs. The entire amount specified as additional withholding at the company level will be taken from each check. For example, if an employee requests additional withholding of $50, then $50 will be taken
DISTRIBUTION GUIDELINES
New Hires forward to EMACS-HR with appropriate JAR packet Current employee forward to EMACS-Payroll
RELATED FORMS/PROCEDURES
Checklist for New Hire Contract and Reinstatement Checklist for New Hire Exempt Checklist for New Hire Extra-Help/Recurrent/PSE Checklist for New Hire Regular/Part-Time Checklist for Termination DE 4, State of California Withholding Allowance Certificate Form W-5, Earned Income Credit Multiple Positions in Different Companies Tax Withholding Cover Sheet Name Change New Hire PST Deferred Compensation Plan Distribution Form
FORM DE 4 STATE WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE CERTIFICATE
MANDATORY FIELDS
Name, Social Security Number, Home address, Status, Withholding Allowances, Employee Signature, Date
Submit Tax Withholding forms for current pay period only.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Form DE 4 is used for California personal income tax withholding purposes only.
This form is completed if claiming a different marital status, number of regular allowances, or additional withholding amount than claimed for Federal income tax withholding using Form W-4.
It is also used if additional allowances for estimated deductions are claimed.
Note: Form DE 4 will not change federal withholding allowances.
Complete instructions are attached to the form and changes to the preprinted information are not permitted. However, if the employee makes an error, that error can be corrected and initialed by the employee.
A Job Action Request (JAR) is not necessary when a current employee is making changes to withholding.
Note: If the employee relies on the Federal Form W-4 for their California withholding allowances, the California state personal income tax may be under withheld and the employee may owe money at the end of the year.
For hints on how to locate Employee ID, Record No. and other standard information, see “EMACS Navigation” section.
WORKSHEETS A, B AND C
The worksheets attached to the form may be used to determine the number of tax withholding allowances and any additional amount to be withheld from each warrant/advice. Enter each amount on the appropriate line. Note: Worksheets do not need to be submitted with the Form DE 4
Each year EMACS-Payroll will order new Form DE 4’s for department use. If you do not have a current supply of forms, the prior year forms can still be used. The worksheet information will not be valid and the employee must not alter the form. Current year forms may be downloaded from the EDD internet site at www.edd.ca.gov.
MULTIPLE POSITION EMPLOYEES – ADDITIONAL TAX WITHHOLDING
Employees who report time in more than one position per pay period will receive more than one pay warrant that pay period if the positions are in different companies, pay groups or benefit programs.
Positions in the Same Company
EMACS will create a separate warrant/advice for each of an employee’s positions if the positions are in different pay groups and/or benefit programs. The entire amount specified as additional withholding at the company level will be taken from each warrant/advice. For example, if an employee requests additional withholding of $50, then $50 will be taken from each warrant/advice. If the employee works in three positions that pay period, 3 X $50, or $150 additional withholding will be taken. If an employee expects to be paid regularly from all of the positions, they may want to specify a fraction of the total additional withholding desired. For example, an employee who wants a total of $40. additional tax withholding taken per pay period should indicate $20.00 on the Form DE 4 and $20.00 will be taken from each warrant/advice when paid.
Positions in Different Companies
EMACS calculates taxes at the employee/company level. Employees who have positions in multiple companies may, and in some cases should, have separate Form DE 4’s in effect for each company. Employees may not duplicate their allowance claims in each company for example, if an employee is entitled to three (3) allowances and claims married three allowances in one company, then they should claim zero allowances in the other company.
Employees who hold multiple positions in different companies (i.e., San Bernardino County and Special Districts), must identify from which company to withhold the additional taxes. For example, an employee who wants a total of $40.00 additional tax withholding, should designate either $40.00 from one company or $20.00 from each company for a total of $40.00. This indication is made on the “Multiple Positions in Different Companies Tax Withholding Cover Sheet”.
MULTIPLE POSITIONS IN DIFFERENT COMPANIES TAX WITHHOLDING COVER SHEET FORM
For employees who work in multiple positions, the Cover Sheet should be completed to explain their intent and must be attached to the Form DE 4.
EXEMPTION FROM WITHHOLDING
To claim EXEMPT, complete the federal Form W-4. EXEMPT from withholding California income tax may only be claimed if federal income tax was not owed last year and the employee is not expected to owe any federal income tax this year. However, these wages are still subject to Social Security and Medicare Taxes (if applicable to the employee). The exemption automatically expires on February 15th of the next year unless submitted again on a new Form W-4 before that date.
Notification to Employees claiming more than 10 Withholding Allowances or Exempt from Withholding
Copies of DE-4 will be sent to the IRS and/or EDD by EMACS-Payroll for employees who claim more than 10 withholding allowances or exemption from withholding and their wages would normally be more than $200 per week.
The IRS or FTB may notify the County in writing to disregard the Form DE 4 submitted and dictate what withholding to use for the employee. To determine whether an employee’s withholding has limitations imposed, see “EMACS Navigation Section” for direction to the proper panels. As an employer, the County must act as instructed by the IRS or FTB.
PAYROLL CLERK RESPONSIBILITIES
Write Employee ID in right-hand corner of Form DE 4 Audit for completeness Verify all line-outs, cross-outs are initialed by the employee Retain copy for department file Verify that EMACS has been updated to reflect the requested action
Write Employee ID in right-hand corner of Form W- Audit for completeness Verify all line-outs, cross-outs are initialed by the employee Retain copy for department file Verify that EMACS has been updated to reflect the requested action
DEADLINES
Refer to Master Calendar for EMACS Processing deadlines.
DISTRIBUTION
New Hires forward to EMACS-HR with appropriate JAR Packet Current employee forward to EMACS-Payroll
RELATED FORMS AND PROCEDURES
Checklist for New Hire Contract and Reinstatement Checklist for New Hire Exempt Checklist for New Hire Extra-Help/Recurrent/PSE Checklist for New Hire Regular/Part-Time DE 4, State of California Withholding Allowance Certificate Form W-4, Federal Withholding Allowance Certificate Multiple Positions in Different Companies Tax Withholding Cover Sheet Name Change New Hire
