The IRS released the 2025 Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, with a few changes. A tip was added that states employees should consider using the IRS's tax withholding estimator to determine the most accurate withholding amount. The importance of the Form W-4 is fundamental to the payroll department. It is the foundation for the taxation of an employee’s paycheck as well as a required IRS form. Failure to handle the form correctly and completely can open the door to serious problems not only in properly withholding from the employee’s gross wages, but could extend beyond the regulations and affect payroll customer service or employee morale. It can also lead to costly expenditures of time and budget resources to correct non-compliance consequences.

This includes new wording changes, the requirements for completing the form properly, handling non-resident aliens, state equivalent forms, record retention and processing the form electronically instead of on paper. We will also discuss best practices for processing more efficiently within the department.

• Review of the Form W-4 for 2025 
• Details of new federal tax calculations
• How to handle a tax protestor
• Learn how to use the new form W-4 including the various new tables
• Understand the employer instructions in publication 15 T
• Discover the various methods of calculating income tax withholding using current and prior year forms W-4, W-4P & W-4S Forms.
• The effective date of new and revised Form W-4 information
• Effective methods for handling incomplete or improperly completed forms
• When you must send Form W-4 to the IRS—it’s not what you think! 
• Effective strategies for streamlining your processing procedures you can use right now 
• How to withhold federal taxes in the absence of a valid Form W-4 
• The difference between an invalid form and a “questionable” one 
• The record retention requirements for Form W-4
• How to make employee verification part of your Form W-4 process
• Proper handling of IRS lock-in letters
• State equivalent forms versus Form W-4 
• When an employee must submit a new form versus when they may submit a revised form
• How to deal with visas and Form W-4

Credits and Other information:

• Recommended CPE credit – 2.0
• Recommended field of study – Taxes
• Session Prerequisites and preparation: None
• Session learning level: Basic
• Location: Virtual/Online
• Delivery method: Group Internet Based
• NASBA Sponsor: 146439
• IRS Course ID: PJGWS-T-00102-24-O
• HRCI Credits: 2.0
• Attendance Requirement:  Yes
• Session Duration: 2 Hours
• Case Studies and Live Q&A session with speaker
• PowerPoint presentation for reference

Who Will Benefit:

• CPA
• Enrolled Agents (EAs)
• Tax Professionals
• HR Professionals
• Payroll professionals
• Finance professionals
• Compliance professionals
• Operations professionals
• Business Owners/Executive Officers/Operations and Departmental Managers
• Accountant/Accounting Professionals

Speaker Profile:

Vicki M. Lambert, CPP, is President and Academic Director of The Payroll Advisor™, a firm specializing in payroll education and training. The company’s website www.thepayrolladvisor.com offers a payroll news service which keeps payroll professionals up-to-date on the latest rules and regulations.

With over 35 years of hands-on experience in all facets of payroll functions as well as over 20 years as a trainer and author, Ms. Lambert has become the most sought-after and respected voice in the practice and management of payroll issues. She has conducted open market training seminars on payroll issues across the United States that have been attended by executives and professionals from some of the most prestigious firms in business today.

A pioneer in electronic and online education, Ms. Lambert produces and presents payroll related audio seminars, webinars and webcasts for clients, APA chapters and business groups throughout the country. Ms. Lambert is an adjunct faculty member at Brandman University in Southern California and is the creator of and instructor for their Practical Payroll Online program, which is approved for recertification hours by the APA. She is also the instructor for the American Payroll Association’s “PayTrain” online program also offered by Brandman University.