On March 12, the IRS announced it will release a completely revamped 2019 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and several related publications by late summer or early fall instead of their traditional December release dates to help software developers reflect changes in the tax law made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA; Pub. L. 115-97). The announcement was made by Ken Corbin, Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division, during APA’s annual Capital Summit in Washington, D.C.
Corbin predicted that the 2019 Form W-4 will be “much cleaner and more robust for next year.” He also said that the earlier release date will allow payroll software developers to program systems to reflect the changes made to the form. For 2018, the Form W-4 and online withholding calculator were released on February 28 due to changes made by the TCJA.
While employees will not be required by the TCJA to update their Forms W-4 in 2019, as they were following the enactment of the last major tax reform legislation in 1986, Corbin said that employees will be strongly encouraged to do so. The IRS will work with the APA to develop a plan for employers to communicate with their employees regarding the withholding changes.
Along with the earlier release date for the 2019 Form W-4, Corbin said that Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax, Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide, Publication 15-A, Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide, and Publication 15-B, Employer’s Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, will also be available much earlier. This year, these publications were delayed so that they could be updated with changes stemming from the TCJA.
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