The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service released on a redesigned Form W-4 for tax year 2020 on Friday (August 9, 2019) indicating that this release should be the last modification of the new form. That was a reference to the fact that a prior draft release had received numerous criticism from tax professionals which had resulted in the changes incorporated into Friday's version.
The redesigned Form W-4 replace the prior more complex worksheet with straightforward questions intended to make it simpler for employees to determine a more accurate withholding. While using the same underlying information, the new form takes a more personalized, step-by-step approach to better server individual taxpayers.
Source: IRS/US Treasury
IFS_W-4_2020_Draft
Source: U.S. Treasury Department
Steven-Mnuchin_Treasury-Secretary
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a prepared statement, “Our dedicated staff at the Treasury and IRS worked tirelessly over the past year to produce a Form W-4 that is more accurate, transparent and simplifies the tax withholding experience for hardworking Americans... We are proud that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lowered taxes for most Americans and are enthusiastic that the improved W-4 will help taxpayers better determine the correct withholding amount for their personal financial situation to more readily reap the benefits of historic tax reform.”
Even though the tax form has been totally redesigned, employees who have previously submitted a W-4 form which is in use for withholding purposes in regard to their current payroll will not be required to complete one of the new forms simply because of the form change. If however their payroll circumstances changes, they would complete one of the new forms regarding any withholding change after the new 2020 Form goes into effect.