Set up an Employee's Filing Status for Federal W-4s (U.S.)

For each employee you set up, you must add filing status information for Federal tax withholding, based on the information provided on Form W-4.

In November 2019, The IRS introduced a new version of Form W-4. Beginning January 1, 2020, all employers must use the new form for new employees, as well as for existing employees that wish to change their withholding.
Note: To enable entering filing status information based on the new Form W-4 (2020), you must be on Vista 6.19.03 or greater.
You can use one of three forms to set up filing status information for an employee:

  • PR Employees, Filing Status tab

  • PR Employee Dedns/Liabs, Info tab

  • HR Resources, Filing Status tab

The following video demonstrates releasing retainage for AP invoices.

The following instructions detail how to enter federal filing status information for an employee based on the new Form W-4. Use the F1 help for additional information about each field

  1. Choose one of the following methods for entering an employee's filing status information:
    • Open PR Employees, select the employee to work with, and click the Filing Status tab.
    • Open PR Employee Dedns/Liabs and select the employee to work with.
    • Open HR Resources, select the resource to work with, and click the Filing Status tab.
  2. Enter the Federal deduction code as follows:
    • In PR Employees or HR Resources, use the Dedn Code field.
    • In PR Employee Dedns/Liabs, use the Dedn/Liab Code field.
  3. From the Filing Status drop-down, select the employee's filing status based on the check box selected in Step 1c of Form W-4.
    • S = Single or Married filing separately
    • M = Married filing jointly or Qualifying surviving spouse
    • H = Head of Household
  4. If this is a new employee, leave the following fields blank, as they are not used.
    • Regular Exempt's
    • Add'l Exempt's
    • Override Misc Amount #1 / Over Misc
    • Misc Amount #1 / Misc Amt1
    • Misc Factor

    For existing employees, it is recommended that you clear these fields to avoid confusion; however, if you leave values in these fields, the system ignores them and uses the values entered in the new W-4 fields (Steps 5-9)

  5. If the employee selected the multiple jobs check box in Step 2b on Form W-4, select the Multiple Jobs Checked check box.
  6. If the employee entered an amount in Step 3, Line 3 on Form W-4, enter that amount in the Dependent Amount field. This is the total annual dollar amount to be claimed as a dependent deduction.
  7. If the employee entered an amount in Step 4a on Form W-4, enter that amount in the Other Income field. This is the total annual income the employee expects during the year that will not have withholding
  8. If the employee entered an amount in Step 4b on Form W-4, enter that amount in the Other Deductions field. This is the total annual dollar amount for deductions other than the standard deduction.
  9. If the employee entered an amount in Step 4c on Form W-4:
    1. Set the Add-On type to Amount.
    2. In the Rate/Amount field, enter the amount from Step 4c on Form W-4. This amount is deducted per pay period
  10. Save the record.