IRS Statements – Withholding for 2018

 

Notice: Historical Content


This is an archival or historical document and may not reflect current law, policies or procedures.

January 11, 2018

January 29, 2018

To help businesses apply recent law changes to withholding, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2018-14PDF and Publication 15PDF, Employer's Tax Guide. These materials are designed to help employers and employees with a variety of withholding matters during and after the transition to new, reduced tax rates and updated withholding tables.

As a reminder, employers should be using the 2018 withholding tables as soon as possible, but not later than Feb. 15, 2018. More information is available in Notice 1036PDF. More information is available in the IRS Withholding Tables Frequently Asked Questions.

January 11, 2018

The IRS released a news release announcing Notice 1036PDF, which updates the income-tax withholding tables for 2018 reflecting changes made by the tax reform legislation enacted last month.

The updated withholding information, posted on IRS.gov, shows the new rates for employers to use during 2018. Employers should begin using the 2018 withholding tables as soon as possible, but not later than Feb. 15, 2018. They should continue to use the 2017 withholding tables until implementing the 2018 withholding tables.

More information is available in the IRS Withholding Tables Frequently Asked Questions.

December 26, 2017

The IRS is working to develop withholding guidance to implement the tax reform bill signed into law on December 22.  We anticipate issuing the initial withholding guidance in January, and employers and payroll service providers will be encouraged to implement the changes in February. The IRS emphasizes this information will be designed to work with the existing Forms W-4 that employees have already filed, and no further action by taxpayers is needed at this time. 
 
Use of the new 2018 withholding guidelines will allow taxpayers to begin seeing the changes in their paychecks as early as February.  In the meantime, employers and payroll service providers should continue to use the existing 2017 withholding tables and systems.

December 13, 2017

The IRS is continuing to closely monitor the pending legislation in Congress, and we are taking the initial steps to prepare guidance on withholding for 2018. ‎We anticipate issuing the initial withholding guidance (Notice 1036) in January reflecting the new legislation, which would allow taxpayers to begin seeing the benefits of the change as early as February. The IRS will be working closely with the nation's payroll and tax professional community during this process.