IRS to update W-4 form in 2019 and 2020

The IRS will soon update the W-4 form used by employees at their workplace to better reflect the recent changes to federal tax law.

The U.S. Treasury said Thursday that the IRS will update the form in the coming weeks for use for the 2019 tax year. That version is expected to be fairly similar to the W-4 currently in use. A more significant change will come in 2020 with the aim of making the withholding system more accurate and transparent to employees.

The IRS released a draft version of the new W-4 form in June for public comment. But it faced criticism, including from the American Institute of CPAs, which said the draft made some processes more complex and created privacy concerns.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the IRS will continue working closely with the tax and payroll community as it makes further changes.

Employees fill out a W-4 form so that their employer can withhold the correct federal income tax from their pay. The IRS urged people to update their W-4s after the new tax law was approved to ensure they were having the proper amount withheld.