Configure the Tax Withholding Card

The Tax Withholding card represents the employees' federal and state Form W-4.

This card is very flexible and can support multiple configurations.

When you're doing this	Here's what you can do
Manually creating the card	Create a default card. Create additional cards for an employee with multiple payroll relationships.
Modifying an existing card	Add a tax reporting unit (TRU) association. Add additional work locations. Adjust filing status, allowances, and withholding exemptions.
Transferring an employee	When transferring between payroll statutory units (PSUs), create a card for the new PSU. Update the card for an employee transferring between TRUs. Update the card for an employee transferring to a new location.
Capturing other HR changes	Sync the tax card to reflect changes to a person's HR data.

See the following sections for examples of each.

Create the Tax Card Manually

For most employees, the sync process creates their Tax Withholding card automatically upon hire or assignment of their payroll relationship. However, if you have disabled this process, or if the person requires an additional card, you create the card manually.

Do this to get started.

1. From My Client Groups, click Payroll.

2. Click Calculation Cards.

Create the Default Card

In this example, you're creating a Tax Withholding card for an employee who didn't receive one upon hire. They work and live in Cincinnati, Ohio and have requested $100 in extra federal withholding.

1. From the Calculation Cards task, click Create.

2. Set the effective date to be the person's date of hire.

3. Select Tax Withholding card, and click Continue.

4. In Withholding Details, select Add Tax Withholding and click Create Default State and Local Withholding.

   This adds regional components based on the person's Cincinnati, OH work and home locations.

5. If you need to add additional state and local withholding info:

   1. In Withholding Details, select Add Tax Withholding and click Add Withholding Information.

   2. Enter the state, county, and city you want to add, and click Search.

   3. In Results, select the city's row, and move it to Selected.

   4. When finished, click Apply.

6. Specify the required federal tax withholding info.

   1. In Withholding Details, click Federal.

   2. Select Edit, and then click Update.

   3. Provide values for the following.

      For this field	Enter this
      Filing Status	Because this person isn't married, leave as Single or married filing separately.
      Multiple Jobs	No
      Extra Withholding	100
      Qualifying Dependents Amount	0
      Other Dependents Amount	0
      Total Dependents Amount	Can't be less than the sum of the values in Qualifying Dependents and Other Dependents Amounts.
      Other Income Amount	0
      Deductions Amount	0

   4. Click Save and Close.

7. Specify the required state and local tax withholding info.

   1. In Withholding Details, click OH.

   2. Select Edit, and then click Update.

   3. Provide values for any necessary fields. In this example, the employee doesn't require any.

   4. Click Save and Close.

8. Define a TRU association.

   1. In Associations, select Add Association and then Create Association.

   2. Select the TRU you want to add, and click Go.

   3. In Associations, select the TRU you added.

   4. Select Edit, and then click Update.

   5. Select the person's primary work address.

   6. Select values for the person's state unemployment insurance (SUI) and state disability insurance (SDI).

   7. In Association Details, click Create Association Details.

   8. Select the person's assignment, and click Go.

   9. Click Save and Close.

9. Click Done.

Create Cards for Multiple Payroll Relationships

The hiring process normally creates tax cards automatically for new hires. It doesn't if:

• You are using the HR-only product extension

• You loaded employee records through HCM Data Loader (HDL)

• You have employees working more than one job concurrently

In this example, you're adding a Tax Withholding card to an employee who has just been given a new payroll relationship and assignment. The employee already has a default card for their primary relationship.

1. In My Client Groups, click Payroll.

2. Click Calculation Cards.

3. Search for the person, and select the appropriate payroll relationship.

   Because this person has two payroll relationships, each appears as a separate row in the results.

4. Click Create, and select Tax Withholding.

5. Continue with the card creation as described in the previous section.

Modify the Tax Card

After an employee has a Tax Withholding card, you update it manually when you need to:

• Add or update the TRU associations

  • Unless you have disabled it, the sync process runs automatically whenever you submit the person's HR data changes.

  • To run it manually, use the Sync Calculation Cards process.

  For further info, see Sync Calculation Cards below.

• Add regional withholding for employees working in multiple locations

• Adjust the filing status, allowances, and withholding exemptions

To manually modify the card:

1. In My Client Groups, click Payroll.

2. Click Calculation Cards.

3. Search for and select the person.

   The Calculation Cards page displays for the employee, listing their calculation cards.

4. Select the Tax Withholding card you want to edit.

   For further instructions, see the following sections.

Add TRU Associations

In this example, you have given your employee an assignment that's operating in a different TRU from their primary.

After you have updated their employment record with the new assignment info, you configure the TRU associations on their tax card.

1. In My Client Groups, click Payroll.

2. Click Calculation Cards.

3. Search for and select the person.

4. Open their Tax Withholding card for editing.

5. In Associations, select Add Association and then click Create Association.

6. Select the TRU you want to add, and click Go.

7. Reopen the card for editing, and in Associations, click the TRU you just added.

8. In Association Details, select Create Association Details.

9. Select the employee's assignment, and click Go.

10. Repeat for any TRUs for other assignments.

Note: Some payroll actions automatically establish TRU associations.This includes actions like adding assignments, hiring, and employee transfers.

Modify the W-4 for Regional Withholding

For each person's assignment, the payroll process follows a set hierarchy for determining the work state. For further info, see How the Payroll Process Determines the Employee Work State in the Help Center. However, to capture the state withholding info, you might have to create and configure state nodes on the tax card.

Note: You don't have to create a state tax card when:

If the new work location has local tax requirements, you must add them to the card as well.

In this example, while your employee remains a resident in their home state, they're beginning a new work assignment in Detroit, Michigan. You need to add this location to their card and specify additional allowances as requested on the person's withholding form.

1. Set the effective as-of date to the date the employee is beginning their new assignment.

2. Add the new work location's regional nodes to the card.

   1. In Withholding Details, select Add Tax Withholding and then click Add Withholding Information.

   2. Enter MI as the state and Detroit as the city, and click Search.

   3. In Results, select Detroit, and move it to Selected.

   4. When finished, click Apply.

3. In Withholding Details, expand the MI state node to view the new county and city nodes.

4. Define the tax withholding for Michigan.

   1. In the Action menu for the MIU node, select Edit and then Update.

   2. Select Yes for Nonresident, and select OH as the state of residence.

   3. Enter one additional allowance.

   4. Click Save and Close.

5. Define the tax withholding for Detroit.

   1. In the Action menu for the Detroit node, select Edit and then Update.

   2. Although this employee is married, don't mark them as such in Filing Status. Filing status isn't valid for Detroit.

   3. In City Tax, enter one additional allowance.

   4. Click Save and Close.

6. When finished, click Cancel.

Adjust Filing Status, Allowances, and Withholding Exemptions

A new tax card has these defaults at the federal level.

• Single or married filing separate filing status

• $0 dependent, deductions, other income, and deduction amounts

Each state and local node you add could impose its own default settings, or they could follow the federal settings.

In this example, an employee living in Ohio has informed you of future life events that require the following changes to their tax card.

At this level	Make these changes
Federal	Change their filing status to Married filing jointly. Withhold an additional $100.
State (Ohio)	Claim 1 allowance.

To make these changes to the tax card:

1. Set the effective as-of date to the date these changes are to take effect.

2. Update the Federal node.

   1. In the Action menu for the Federal node, select Edit and then Update.

   2. Select Married filing jointly for the filing status.

   3. Enter 100 for Extra Withholding Amount.

   4. Click Save.

3. Update the OH state node.

   1. In the Action menu for the OH node, select Edit and then Update.

   2. Enter 1 allowance.

   3. Click Save.

4. When finished, click Cancel.

Manage Tax Cards During Employee Transfers

A transfer can occur between:

• PSUs

• TRUs

• Locations

Each transfer can impact the employee's tax card in different ways.

Before modifying the card, ensure all other activities related to the transfer are complete. Then you can open the Tax Withholding card for editing:

1. From My Client Groups, click Payroll.

2. Click Calculation Cards.

3. Search for and select the person.

4. Open their Tax Withholding card for editing.

Transfer Between PSUs

You transfer an employee from one PSU to another using the Local and Global Transfer process. In these cases, the process creates a Tax Withholding card for their new TRU and new assignment.

Because of changes to the 2020 W-4, there are some cases when the process cannot copy any employee withholding info to the new card.

• If the employee has a W-4 before 2020, the process creates a card with default 2020 federal withholding. It doesn't retain any employee info from the previous form. However, it does retain these employee tax configurations.

  • Exempt from Medicare

  • Exempt from Federal Unemployment

  • Exempt from Social Security

  • Exempt from Wage Accumulation

  • Enforce Federal Income Tax Look-back Rule Employee Override

  • IRS Lock in Date

  • Maximum Federal Allowances

  • Regular Amount

  • Regular Rate

  • Supplemental Amount

  • Supplemental Rate

• If the employee has the new 2020 W-4, then the process copies all info to the new card except Exempt from Federal Income Tax.

• The process doesn't copy the state or local tax card configuration. If the person requires withholding other than the defaults, you must manually define them.

• The process automatically sets some default values, such as:

  • Pennsylvania PSD code

  • Pennsylvania school district

  • SUI and SDI state info

To perform the transfer:

1. From My Client Groups, click Show More.

2. In Employment, click Local and Global Transfer.

3. Search for and select the employee.

4. Select the info you want to transfer, and click Continue.

5. In When and Why, define all required info, including the person's new legal employer.

6. Complete all other steps, and submit the process.

7. If the employee had a pre-2020 W-4, have them complete a new Federal W-4 form through Self Service upon completion of the transfer.

8. Update the new tax card with any special state or local withholdings requested by the employee.

Transfer Between TRUs

Transfers between TRUs involve adding the TRU associations on the card. Before you begin, you must have already created the employee's new assignment.

When you use the global transfer process to move an employee to a different TRU, it:

1. Adds the TRU association to the person's current tax card and adds the assignment

2. Sets some default values, such as:

   • Pennsylvania PSD code

   • Pennsylvania school district

   • SUI and SDI state info

To perform the transfer:

1. From My Client Groups, click Show More.

2. In Employment, click Local and Global Transfer.

3. Search for and select the employee.

4. Select the info you want to transfer, and click Continue.

5. In When and Why, define all required info.

6. In Payroll Details, select the payroll definition and TRU.

7. Provide any other necessary info, and submit the process.

Transfer Between Locations

For location transfers that don't involve a change in TRU, you need to update the tax card if:

1. The new location has special state or local tax requirements.

2. The person has changed their withholding selections on their W-4.

   For further info, see How You Modify a Tax Card above.

Sync Calculation Cards

In most cases, when you make a change to a person's HR data, a sync process automatically makes the appropriate updates to their tax card. For further info, see Manage Tax Cards During Employee Transfers above.

However, you can disable this sync process. In those cases, you must run it manually to update the cards.

1. From My Client Groups, click Payroll.

2. Click Submit a Flow.

3. Enter your US legislative data group (LDG), and select Sync Calculation Cards.

4. Enter the necessary parameters, and start the process.

   For further info, see Sync Calculation Cards in the Help Center.