The IRS on Friday released a draft for a new withholding form that is meant to be simpler and reflect changes in the tax code from the 2017 GOP tax law.
“The new design reduces the form’s complexity and increases the transparency and accuracy of the withholding system,” the IRS wrote in a fact sheet released when announcing the new form.{mosads}
The new W-4 form eliminates personal withholdings, which the tax law did away with. The form will be required starting in 2020, though hires who previously submitted withholdings will not need to resubmit using the new document.
The new forms may provide some relief to filers whose withholdings no longer matched up with the tax code and found themselves with smaller refunds or even owing money to the government this year.
The IRS’s internal watchdog warned that the agency should loosen penalties for people who underpaid because they were no longer withholding enough from their paychecks.
For the 2018 filing season, the average refund amount was down 2 percent, according to the IRS.