When you hire a new employee, it is important to complete all required payroll forms. These forms include the New Hire Reporting Form, W-4, state withholding form (as applicable), and the I-9 form.
New Hire Reporting
New hire reporting was created in 1996 to improve the child support income withholding process. All employers are required to report new hires, rehires, re-called employees, and temporary employees within 20 days of hire. In Indiana, this information is reported to the Department of Workforce Development. A link to each state’s new hire reporting website is available on the US Office of Child Support Enforcement’s website. AccuPay also offers new hire reporting services to our clients.
W-4 Employee’s Withholding Certificate
The W-4 form is used to determine the correct amount of federal income tax withholding to deduct from the employee’s payroll. This form should be completed by the employee when they are hired and anytime their financial situation changes. The W-4 form was completely updated in 2020 in response to the new income tax laws effective January of 2018. PLEASE READ OUR PREVIOUS PAYDAY EMAILS ABOUT THE NEW W-4 or click here to download the form.
WH-4 Employee’s Indiana Withholding Exemption and County Status Certificate
The WH-4 form is used to determine the correct amount of Indiana state and county tax to withhold from the your Indiana-resident employees. This form should be completed by the employee when they are hired and when the number of exemptions they are entitled to claim changes. This form also provides the option to have an additional flat dollar amount of state tax withheld from each payroll. It is very important that the employee complete his/her counties of residence and primary place of employment for January 1 of every year since those counties control the employee’s county tax rates for the entire year.
Non-Indiana States/Local Taxing Jurisdictions
Most states have their own state tax withholding forms which employees should complete to ensure accurate state tax withholding. FOR ACCUPAY CLIENTS WHO HAVE EMPLOYEES OUTSIDE INDIANA——Please let us know ASAP if you hire an employee with a tax jurisdiction you have not already registered in, such as a new state or a new local taxing jurisdiction (Ohio, PA and KY have tons of local tax jurisdictions). Accupay has several state applications and employee withholding forms on our website. IDEALLY, you should be registered for state income and state unemployment taxes prior to hiring employees in new tax jurisdictions. AccuPay will help you determine the correct taxing jurisdictions based on the employee’s home address and the primary work address of the new employee—send those addresses to us promptly!!
I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification
The I-9 form is used to verify an individual is eligible to work in the United States. The form should be completed no later than the time of hire for both citizens and noncitizens. An employer must sign/date Form I-9 affirming they have examined original documents which authorize a person to work in the US. The completed form should be kept on file by the employer and it is subject to inspection by authorized government officials. A Spanish version of the I-9 form is also available, but the form must be completed in English to meet necessary requirements. (Please note: the temporary ruling allowing expired documentation to be used on form i-9 expires on May 1, 2022.)
Work Opportunity Tax Credits
Many for-profit employers can obtain substantial Federal tax credits for hiring lower wage people who are on some type of public assistance. IRS Form 8850 must be signed by the employee by his/her hire date to be eligible for the WOTC Federal Tax Credit. A sample cover letter and applicable forms are available on our website under WOTC Tax Credit Forms.
Direct Deposit – Employee Agreement
Every employee who wants AccuPay to direct deposit their payroll check should complete this form. The employer should then either securely email to the processor or fax it back to AccuPay at 317-885-7591, along with copies of the employee’s voided check to ensure accurate bank account information. Online employers may also enter this information directly into the payroll system.
ACA Notices
Employers of all sizes are required to provide new employees with “ACA notices” about the terms of any employer – sponsored group health insurance. The Department of Labor has 2 “model notices” which employers can use to fulfill this new employee notification requirement:
ACA notice – Employer has a plan
The DOL requires that a new employee be provided with the ACA notice within 14 days of their hire date.
Downloadable Forms
All these forms and others are available on the AccuPay website under Resources/Forms. If you process your payroll with AccuPay, our new employee and direct deposit forms are available at www.accupay.com
Team-Up with AccuPay!
A perfect “new hire package” to send to AccuPay consists of the following forms:
- A completed “New Employee/Change Form” – You can complete this form from information included on forms W-4, WH-4 or other state withholding form and I-9;
- Direct Deposit Authorization and Voided Check (if direct deposit is desired)
AccuPay also offers a cloud-based Onboarding platform, available to clients using AccuPay’s PeopleCloud system, powered by isolved. This add-on feature allows you to share documents with new hires electronically and stores the completed data securely in your online account. For more information, contact Jessica at hr@accupay.com or ask your Payroll Specialist.