How to fill out a de 4 form

Newly hired employees must complete and sign both the federal Form W-4 and the state DE 4. The W-4 is used for federal income tax and the DE 4 is used for California Personal Income Tax (PIT). Starting in 2020, allowances are no longer included on the redesigned Form W-4 for PIT withholdings. If an employee doesn’t provide an employer with a properly completed state DE 4, the employer must withhold state income taxes from the employee’s wages as if the employee were single and claiming zero withholding allowances.

  Employees who submitted a Form W-4 before 2020 are not required to submit a new form if they have no changes to their withholding allowances. Continue to calculate withholding based on previously submitted forms. Click here for details on 2020 California withholding schedules and meals and lodging values.

The California Form DE 4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, must be completed so that you know how much state income tax to withhold from your new employee's wages. The importance of having each employee file a state withholding certificate as well as a federal Form W-4 cannot be overstated, so make its completion a priority. (The federal form can be substituted for the state form, for state tax purposes, in certain circumstances.)

If for some reason an employee does not file one, you must withhold tax as if the employee had claimed no exemptions. If a married employee does not claim his married status on the form, the employer must withhold on the basis of the "single employee" withholding tables. Since the withholding rates for single employees are higher than those for married workers and since the amount of tax withheld from a given wage payment decreases as the number of exemptions claimed increases, it is important that you ask all employees to file the proper certificates.

The file is in Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf), and you will need the free Acrobat Reader to view and print the file. 

How to fill out a de 4 form

Author: Tammy Doss

Your W-4:

This form is what determines the amount of taxes that will be withheld from your Job Shop paycheck for Federal Income Tax Withholding (FIT).

The W-4 – Employee’s Withholding Certificate is used to determine your Federal Income Tax withholding. It is required by the Internal Revenue Service to complete this document. The Job Shop uses this information to set you up in our payroll system so we can deduct the amount of taxes

you may owe the Federal Government based on your income.

Completing sections (a), (b), and (c) on the form will be the first step. Typing or Writing legibly is the key. This information will be used to not only calculate your Federal tax deduction but also your year-end W-2 Annual Tax Statement.

Everyone’s tax situation is different. Failure to complete the entire form will automatically result in you being treated as a Single person. This is fine if you are Single. However, If you are Married or the Head of the Household be sure to indicate this in step 1 (c).

Page three of the form gives you specific instructions on filling in the form. Simply complete the worksheet and then you can transfer your information to Page one of the W-4 Employee’s Withholding Certificate.

It is very important to complete Step 5 which is where you will sign and date the W-4 document.

The Job Shop will complete the employer’s section below once your part is done.

During the calendar year should you have an address change, become Single, Married, or the Head of Household or a change in your tax status you will need to complete a new form and provide it to The Job Shop so we can update your records.

Your DE-4:

This form is used to compute the amount of California Personal Income Tax (PIT) Withholding that will be withheld from your Job Shop paycheck.

The DE-4- Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate is easy to complete. Once you enter your Personal Information in the first section of the form including your unique Social Security Number and Filing Status – Single, Married or Head of Household you proceed to step 1 on the form.

The number of allowances, the additional amount of withholding you desire, or if you are Exempt from withholding can all be determined by completing the Worksheet on page 3 of the form. After that just transfer your information to page 1.

Sign and date the form and The Job Shop will use this document to set up your State Withholding in our payroll system.

During the calendar year should you have an address change, become Single, Married, or the Head of Household or a change in your tax status you will need to complete a new form and provide it to The Job Shop so we can update your records.

Do I have to fill out a California DE 4 form?

You must file the state form Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate (DE 4) to determine the appropriate California PIT withholding. If you do not provide your employer with a withholding certificate, the employer must use Single with Zero withholding allowance.

What is a California de4 form?

This certificate, DE 4, is for California Personal Income Tax (PIT) withholding purposes only. The DE 4 is used to compute the amount of taxes to be withheld from your wages, by your employer, to accurately reflect your state tax withholding obligation.

How many dependents should I claim?

Claiming 1 allowance is typically a good idea if you are single and you only have one job. You should claim 1 allowance if you are married and filing jointly. If you are filing as the head of the household, then you would also claim 1 allowance.