Your W-2 & W-4 Forms

Tax TimeJust a reminder that you can view and download your W-2 form (Wage and Tax Statement) from your personal account with Greenshades! View or print your 2015 tax forms »

As you gather your information for the IRS income tax filing season, Payroll has some important information to share regarding your W-4 form (Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate) for 2016. Your W-4 tells Payroll the amount of tax to withhold from your paycheck. Situations when you might need to change your W-4 include marriage, divorce, having a child, or if you discover through filing your federal income tax return that you had too little or too much withheld from your pay.

Your most recently filed Form W-4 remains in effect until you give Payroll a new one. You are not required to submit a new W-4 form. When Payroll receives a new W-4, it will replace the existing one and withholding will begin, based on the new form, on the next payroll cycle.

If you are one of the very few employees who completed a Form W-4 in 2015 claiming exempt from income tax withholding, that W-4 expires on February 15, 2016, because claiming exempt from withholding is valid only for that calendar year. You must submit a new W-4 for 2016 if you wish to keep the exempt status. If you do not provide us with a new W-4 claiming exempt from withholding by February 15, 2016, your exemption will change to single with zero withholding allowances. There are tax consequences for claiming exempt from withholding. You may want to seek the advice of a tax professional or CPA before claiming exempt from withholding on your W-4.

We encourage employees to visit the Withholding Calculator on the IRS website. This tool is available to help individuals determine how many withholding allowances to claim on their Form W-4.