Question

Answer

Can people claim exempt on the new W4 and if so, how would we set that up in HRMS?

To have no USFIT wagebase or amount withheld, do not add USFIT to the employee.  To track a wagebage but have no tax withheld, inside USFIT for the employee the Withholding method should be ‘Taxable, No Withholding’.

Just to clarify the HRMS Q4 2019 US Payroll Release is to be done prior to the first payroll in 2020 not before Q4 2019 has been closed?

Ideally, install the Q4 update once all payments in 2019 have been posted and prior to issuing your first payment with a 2020 check date. Sage HRMS supports two year calculations (2020 and before).

What about exempt employees that either claim to be exempt or claim 99 dependents. Did that go away?

That logic was used for Sage Abra Suite product, not Sage HRMS.  See response above regarding claim exempt.

How will the update work if you have not finished 2019 tax forms and W-2s but need to process a Jan 2020 payroll

You can process 2019 tax forms in the year 2020.  For example, employee 2019 mailed W-2’s are due Jan 31, 2020.  You would normally issue these in January 2020 after you have finished balancing 2019.

Federal exemption  for 2019 expires on 2/17/2020.  if employee does not turn in the new exempt for 2020, does it default to their old filing status or single with no exempt?

2020 W-4 form is for hires in 2020 or employees that have a status change.  Existing employees are not required to fill out a new form.

if employee has two jobs and spouse has one job, does it count as 3 jobs or two jobs?

Step 2 would be used if you have more than one job at the same time or are married filing jointly and you and your spouse both work.  For further clarification I would direct you to the IRS for clarification.

If employee wants to withhold a fixed amount every week, where do I enter?  Some employees want to withhold just a fix amount for ex $300 per week, no dependent, no allowance.

You could use a reusable timecard for USFIT for the $300 or you can change the Withholding Method to Amount Override and enter $300 into the Amount/Percent field on the Employee Payroll, Taxes tab.

Nebraska has added a specific state W4 that mirrors the federal W4.  Will we be able to make the appropriate changes on the state withholding?

Most states did not release their withholding calculation in time for the Q4 release. We will support State W4 in the coming update(s).

I use HRMS for the HR piece but my payroll runs through Sage CRE, how does that tax form changes affect my HRMS tax tab when it feeds over to CRE?

Sage HRMS does not have an interface with Sage CRE.  I would suggest reaching out to the person or companythat sold you or supports that feature.  Sage works with Endorsed Channel Partners that have add-ons that work seamlessly within our software.

what is the responsibility of the employer to ensure the employee fills out the form correctly. I understand we are not to give any type of tax advice.

You are correct, employers should always avoid giving employees specific tax filling advice and should never complete these forms for employees.  Employees could contact a certified tax professional.

HRActions will not be broken if all that was added in payroll is new fields in the employee taxes and employee tax fields tables. HRActions does not update the payroll tables, but it can be done through further customizations.

Please contact support for further information on HR Actions.

Have there been any changes for states with income tax withholding? In the past many employees have elected to withhold to the state based on their federal w-4 form.

As each state is different, I would refer to the Release Notes or contact Sage Support.

In step 2 on the 2020 W4 form if the BOX is checked where does that go in HRMS?

Employee Payroll > Taxes Tab > USFIT detail > Filing Status.  In the value select the appropriate option ending with “using step 2 option c”

You showed us how to change one code 401k but we have an 401k Pretax and an 401k Roth with a combined maximum so I think I have to do the update to 401k differently?  right?

I would suggest contacting Sage support so they can see your setup.

How do you enter EXEMPT with the new 2020 W4 in HRMS Taxes? for fed exempt how should employee indicate on the w4 form

On the 2020 W-4 the employee would enter EXEMPT in the space below step 4©.  Complete steps 1a, 1b and 5. 

Are the changes to Sage 100 Payroll going to be similar to the Sage HRMS?  The HRMS screens are different than those seen in Sage 100.

Please contact Sage 100 Payroll.

How will the new W4 affect the Nebraska W4 because Nebraska mirrors the federal form?

As each state is different, I would refer to the Release Notes or contact Sage Support.

Are we required to send a notice to all employees to fill out a new W4. I think this will be very confusing for employees to fill out. We do not make it a policy to give tax advise.

No, you do not need to send out a notice to have all of your employees fill out the 2020 W-4.  Only if you had a new hire/rehire or someone has a personal status change.

in hrms payroll didn't see the 2020 W4 choice - only the 2019 - on the screen during the demo  there were 3 lines at bottom of f9 screen but unclear on what to choose for 2020

In USFIT detail, the last three lines are:

W-4 Line 3 Dependent Amount

W-4 Line 4A Other Income Amount

W-4 Line 4b Deductions Amount

do you have to change the filing status to a 2020

No.  Existing employees that do not have a status change can continue to use the 2019 options.

Please show again where you key in the additional amount of tax if the employee wants an additional $10 each pay period over the normal calculations.

Payroll > Employee Payroll > Taxes Tab > USFIT (F9) or click Tax Info button > Extra Withholding.

Will the state income tax withholding tab remain the same?

More details will be provided in the upcoming release.

Does a new W4 need to be filled out for a change of address as well?

The W-4 instructions state:  Complete a new Form W-4 when changes to your personal or financial situation would change the entries on the form.  For more information on withholding and when you must furnish a new Form W-4 see Pub. 505.  I would recommend getting tax advice or reaching out to the IRS.

Question about the dependent and deduction amount. The amount that we put in is that by pay period or an annual amount?

Annual amount, just as the amount you would enter into the W-4 (2020).

Let me be more specific in HRMS 

W4 line 3 dependent - Annual or payperiod amount?

W4 line 4a - Annual or payperiod amount?

W4 line 4b - Annual or payperiod amount?

Please refer to the General instructions on the Form W-4 (2020).

What is the cutoff of the absolute last date this update needs to be uploaded by to remain in compliance?

It is best practice to complete and review 2019 payroll before processing 2020 with the new update,

I think you missed the 401k topic, because I have this as well. Ultimately, when you have a 401k and a 401k Roth how do you get the system to sum the two deductions together to find the Annual Max

Common Deduction Limits

Next question does that 19000 automatically update.

No.  You will need to update the Deduction code in Setup and then at the employee level.  As an alternative to the employee level, you can use Update Earnings/Deductions (make sure to have a backup prior to doing this).

Is there no longer a way to claim "exempt" on the 2020 W-4?

Follow the W-4 Instructions on how to claim exempt.

I have a few employees that contribute the full amount to their 401K and also contribute the additional catch up amount. When I entered the $19,000 maximum. then the deduction wasn't taken to allow the additional catch up amount.

I would need more details.  Please contact Sage Support so they can live connect and take a look.

for 2c on page 3, how should the employee put in the information if one job does weekly pay and the other does bi-weekly pay?

Unsure.  Please contact a tax professional for clarification on how to fill out the Form W-4.

1.)           We use Timberline to process payroll.  However, we have a personalized tab on HRMS that pushes the filing status and the personal exemptions over to timberline.  Will I need to get with my Sage representative to have the fields changed as there will no longer be exemptions?

2.)           Are all of our employees required to fill out a new form?

1) Please contact your Sage representative.

2) No.  Only employees that have a status change or are new hires/rehires in 2020. 

If the current employees do not fill out a new form, will they all become Single? or will it grandfathered their last w-4 and their exemptions will stay intact?

Current employees do not need to fill out a new W-4 unless there status changes.  Sage HRMS will continue to use 2019 selections.

If we don't do payroll with HRMS can we change the annual maximum on the savings benefits tab?

The Benefit Savings Plans Group has a maximum on the employer contribution per pay pay period. There is no pre-existing field for annual limit in HR for the employee.  When adding the amount to the employee you would need to manually calculate the pay period maximum.  It is the Sage HRMS payroll module that has the annual limits. 

Once an employee changes their w-4 to the 2020, they can't go back to their 2019 exemptions, correct?

Correct.  In 2020, if an employee fills out a 2020 W-4 form, do not revert them back to 2019.  This is more of an IRS question.