Jim Medlock, CPP, and Mike O’Toole, Esq., teamed up to discuss the proposed changes, which are a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).
Medlock is the former Director of Education and Training and Education Advisor for the APA. O’Toole is the former Senior Director of Publications, Education, and Government Relations for the APA and continues to serve the Association .
The co-instructors said the 2020 Form W-4 changes will have a significant effect on the way employers process payroll, how federal and state income tax withholding is calculated, and the relationship between the payroll department and the employees they serve.
Asking employees for more personal financial information as part of the federal income tax withholding calculation may add some tension to the payroll-employee relationship, they said.
The workshop instructors said that when attendees return to work after this week’s 37th Annual Congress, they need to make their managers and company financial executives aware of what the IRS has planned for the 2020 Form W-4, and then follow up as the IRS issues draft forms and instructions from now through the summer.
Attendees need to be their employers’ eyes and ears as issues develop, O'Toole and Medlock said, and they can do this by continuing to pay attention to the information the APA will release on the new form and how the Association is working with the IRS to fine-tune the final product before it is released later this year.
Additional reporting by Greg Mellen