What If My Employer Rejects My W-4?

It's your responsibility to see to it that the information on your W-4 is correct.  Your employer won't check it over for you.  If your form has obvious problems, though, your employer won't accept it.  Any one of the following faults will cause your W-4 to be rejected.

• You've changed the text of the form, either by crossing out parts of it or adding statements to it.
• You've used the form to request that a flat dollar amount of tax or a certain percentage of your wages by withheld.  This isn't legal.  Federal income tax is calculated on the basis of your withholding allowances.
• You've told your employer that some of the information on the form is false.

If you submit an unacceptable W-4, you ought to fill out a new one.  If you don't, and you're a new employee, your employer will have to assume that you have zero withholding allowances.  If you're not a new employee, your employer will keep using your most recent W-4 form on file.  Either way, you could easily end up paying more in taxes than you have to.

Don't make false claim on your W-4 form in the hope of reducing your federal taxes.  That's a felony offense.  If you're found guilty of it, the punishment can be severe.

Your employer might ask that you submit your W-4 form by telephone or computer.  If you want to use the paper form instead, your employer has to tell you how to get one, and when you should submit it.