Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations permit employees who anticipate no federal tax liability for 2016 to claim total exemption from federal tax withholding provided they owed no federal taxes for 2015. These regulations also require a new Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, be submitted every calendar year by employees claiming an exempt status. However, because of PostalEASE, these employees no longer have to file a hard copy Form W-4.
Employees may meet IRS filing requirements for exempt Forms W-4 by either logging onto PostalEASE at http://liteblue.usps.gov or by calling PostalEASE toll-free at 877-477-3273, option 1. Follow the Form W-4 instructions provided by PostalEASE, and your form will be updated for calendar year 2016. If you need to contact the HR Shared Service Center (HRSSC) in Greensboro about this matter, call 877-477-3273, menu option 5, and then request Benefits when prompted. To reach the HRSSC using TTY, call 866-260-7507.
Any employee currently in an exempt status who does not submit a new Form W-4 claiming a continuation of the exempt status will be converted to a taxable status, effective Pay Period (PP) 04-2016. For the exempt status to remain effective into 2016, updated Form W-4 information must be entered into PostalEASE no later than Wednesday, February 17, 2016, 3:00 p.m. Central Time. However, to ensure a seamless continuation of the exempt status for 2016, employees are encouraged to update their W-4 information no later than a day or two in advance of the February 17 cut-off.
Note: An employee currently in an exempt status may file for exemption after February 17, the PostalEASE cut-off date; however, in that instance, the employee’s exempt status will not be continuous from 2015 to 2016. Depending on the day of the pay period in which W-4 information is entered into PostalEASE, the 2016 exempt status is effective the pay period of entry or the pay period following entry.
Any employee who claimed exempt status for 2015 and who does not submit a new Form W-4 will have federal taxes withheld at the rate normally applicable to an employee claiming “Single” with “0” allowances. Employees with an exempt status (as of PP 27-2015) will receive printed messages on their earnings statements during PP 02-2016, PP 03-2016, and PP 04-2016 reminding them that a new Form W-4 is required.
n All administrative and managerial employees are prohibited from providing any tax advice to employees about the completion of Form W-4.
n Sending information about exempt Form W-4 to Eagan Accounting Services is no longer required.
— Payroll,
Controller, 1-7-16
