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It explains federal withholding based on W-4 exemptions, employee submission and payroll implementation timing, and how changes apply. It also covers supplemental wages, IRS lock-in procedures, annual exemption renewals by February 15, and Massachusetts state withholding obligations for Forms M-4. It further addresses handling for employees working outside Massachusetts.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/state-and-federal-income-tax-policy-effective-july-1-2004-last-updated-february-23-2026/301959/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/state-and-federal-income-tax-policy-effective-july-1-2004-last-updated-february-23-2026/301959.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Nguyễn Văn Học","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-09-24","2026-09-19",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":9},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"How do Commonwealth departments withhold federal and state taxes for each pay period?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Departments must withhold state and federal employment taxes in every biweekly pay period using the employee’s official Form W-4 and Form M-4. Employees confirm that the tax withholdings are taken.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What happens if an employee does not submit a completed Form W-4 or Form M-4?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"If an employee does not submit a completed Form W-4, federal income tax is withheld at the single status rate with no withholding allowances. If an employee does not submit a completed Form M-4, state income tax is withheld at the single status rate with no withholding exemptions.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"When do changes to tax withholding elections become effective?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"After an employee submits an updated Form W-4 or Form M-4, the payroll department must implement it for the first payroll period ending after the form is received. 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Form W-4s can be downloaded from the IRS Forms and Instructions website. [https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf. Employers)[. Employers](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf. Employers) are required to provide Forms W-4 to their employees. Upon hire, employees must submit to their employer a completed Form W-4. If an employee does not submit a completed Form W-4, federal income tax will be withheld at the single status rate, with no withholding allowances.  \nForm W-4 withholdings must be implemented by the employee’s payroll department for the first payroll period ending after the Form W-4 is submitted. A Form W-4 remains in effect until the employee submits a new one.  \nIf employees wish to make changes to their withholding allowances, they must submit a new Form W-4 to their payroll department. This Form W-4 must be implemented by the payroll department no later than the beginning of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after the form is received by the payroll department.  \nThe IRS uses information reported on Forms W-2 to identify employees with withholding compliance problems. In some cases, where a serious under-withholding problem is found to exist for a particular employee, the IRS may issue a notice (commonly referred to as a \"lock-in-letter\") . The IRS will provide  \nthe employee with an opportunity to dispute the determination before their withholding is adjusted based on the lock-in letter. When an employee's withholding is locked, departments must contact the Statewide Payroll Team if the employee wants to change their withholding elections.  \nSupplemental Wages  \nMost wages are taxed at the federal level using the IRS-approved “annual” tax method. When employees receive payments called “supplemental wages,” a special rate is applied to withhold federal income tax from these payments at a rate specified by the IRS. This rule is called the “supplemental”tax method. Examples of supplemental wages include overtime, bonuses, awards, settlements, judgments, retroactive pay, and sick and vacation leave payouts.  \nAn employee could have both the annual and supplemental tax methods applied to their wages in a pay period, depending on the types of earnings they receive.  \nClaiming Exempt on Form W-4  \nEmployees, including non-resident aliens, who claim an exemption from tax withholding on their Form W-4 must submit a new Form W-4 annually, attesting to their exempt status. If the employee does not submit a new Form W-4 by February 15 of the new calendar year, then their tax status will be automatically reset to the single status rate, with no withholding allowances.  \nState Income Tax  \nThe Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) requires employers to withhold state income tax from wages paid to their current and former employees, based on the withholding exemptions claimed on the employee","cbCaib0aksMVIPNL","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaib0aksMVIPNL","pdf",208342,"English","# Executive Summary\n# Policy\n## Federal Income Tax\n## Supplemental Wages\n## Claiming Exempt on Form W-4\n## State Income Tax\n## Claiming Exempt on Form M-4\n## Commonwealth Employees Who Work Outside of Massachusetts","[{\"question\":\"How do Commonwealth departments withhold federal and state taxes for each pay period?\",\"answer\":\"Departments must withhold state and federal employment taxes in every biweekly pay period using the employee’s official Form W-4 and Form M-4. Employees confirm that the tax withholdings are taken.\"},{\"question\":\"What happens if an employee does not submit a completed Form W-4 or Form M-4?\",\"answer\":\"If an employee does not submit a completed Form W-4, federal income tax is withheld at the single status rate with no withholding allowances. If an employee does not submit a completed Form M-4, state income tax is withheld at the single status rate with no withholding exemptions.\"},{\"question\":\"When do changes to tax withholding elections become effective?\",\"answer\":\"After an employee submits an updated Form W-4 or Form M-4, the payroll department must implement it for the first payroll period ending after the form is received. Changes must be implemented no later than the beginning of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day after receipt.\"}]","State and Federal Income Tax Policy - Effective July 1, 2004 - Last Updated February 23, 2026 | PDF",1789787491]