The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires all employers to distribute an information memo to their employees - by December 1 each year - directing them to review their federal Form W-4 Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate information for the next calendar year. If employees know that their federal filing status, exemption allowances, or exempt status has or will change since the last filing of their Form W-4, they are required to complete a new Form W-4.
Employees claiming “exempt” from withholding during the current tax year are required to submit a new Form W-4 to their employers by February 15, 2017, in order to maintain their exempt status. This is also a good time to have employees review their personal information such as name, mailing address and social security number to be sure they are correct for the preparation and mailing of Forms W-2. It is important for employees to review their filing status, exemption allowances, and exempt status for state and local withholding purposes as well.
The information memo employers distribute can also include information about the distribution of the Forms W-2, how employees can request reissued Form W-2 statements, the 2017 social security and Medicare tax rates and wage limits, any state legislative information impacting employee pay, information on the healthcare reporting requirement for Form W-2, annual benefit limit changes, and the employer’s 2017 holiday and pay schedules.
Attached for your convenience is a sample “Year-End Notification Memo” for you to customize. ADP Workforce Now Comprehensive Services has other year-end templates available for you to customize and use to communicate with your employees. Please contact your Service Team for additional information.