New 2018 W4 Forms and Withholding Calculator Released by the IRS

The 2017 tax reform law made major changes that have affected employee withholding for 2018. For the January 12, 2018 paychecks, Reliant used the 2017 withholding tax tables. This withholding was based on guidance from the IRS, due to the fact that the 2018 tax tables were not released in time for our payroll software to have time to update and accommodate for the change. On the February 15, 2018 paychecks, Reliant began using the new 2018 tax tables. Many Reliant employees may have noticed a slight decrease in their federal tax withholding on their February 15, 2018 paychecks due to this change. 

On February 28, 2018, the IRS released a 2018 W-4 form. If you would like to submit a Form W-4 (2018 ) to be effective on your April 13, 2018 paycheck, please fill out a new form and email it to payroll@reliant.org using your Reliant email. Forms received by March 30 will be effective for the April 13, 2018 paycheck.

How has the new W-4 form been changed? 

The calculations worksheet has been updated to help you calculate your correct withholding allowances based on the new tax reform law.

How do I know what to put on a new W-4 form?

The IRS encourages everyone to use the Withholding Calculator to perform a quick “paycheck checkup.”

The Withholding Calculator helps you identify your tax withholding to make sure you have the right amount of tax withheld from your paychecks.

What information is needed to fill out a Withholding Calculator?

The Withholding Calculator will ask you to estimate values of your 2018 income, the number of children you will claim for the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and other items that will affect your 2018 taxes. This process will take a few minutes.

• Gather your most recent pay stubs.
• Have your most recent income-tax return handy; this will help you estimate your tax credits/deductions, such as mortgage interest, charitable contributions, and childcare costs. 
• Keep in mind that the calculator’s results will only be as accurate as the information you provide. If your circumstances change during the year, come back to this calculator to make sure that your withholding is still correct.
• The Withholding Calculator does not ask you to provide sensitive, personally-identifiable information like your name, Social Security number, address or bank account numbers. The IRS does not save or record the information you enter on the calculator.
• The Withholding Calculator works for most taxpayers. Taxpayers who owe self-employment tax, alternative minimum tax, the tax on unearned income of dependents or certain other taxes, and people with long-term capital gains or qualified dividends may need to research additional IRS guidelines and resources.