Form W-4 S Request for Federal Income Tax Withholding From Sick Pay

2010 Form W-4S
Request for Federal Income Tax Withholding From Sick Pay

Purpose:

This is the first circulated draft of the 2010 Form W-4S
for your review and comments. See below for a
discussion of major changes.

TCCC Meeting:

There is no meeting scheduled, but you may request
one.

Prior Version:

The 2009 Form W-4S is available at:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4s.pdf.

Other Products:

Circulations of draft tax forms, instructions, notices,
and publications are posted at:
http://taxforms.web.irs.gov/circulations/index.htm
Comments: Please call, email or mail any comments
by July 24, 2009. Comments should also be emailed
to the reviewer Virginia M. Tarris at
Virginia.M.Tarris@irs.gov.

Bill Haddad
Tax Law Specialist
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I:P
NCFB, C6-425
Email: William.E.Haddad@irs.gov
Tel: 202-283-2527

Description of Major Changes for 2010 Form W-4S, Request
for Federal Income Tax Withholding From Sick Pay
•

All years and dates have been updated as appropriate.

•

All dollar amounts have been temporarily changed to placeholders
($XXX), ($X,XXX), ($XX,XXX), etc. until final amounts are provided by
Treasury.

•

Suggested changes from Reviewer. Email dated 5/1/09.
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:B:R
1. On page 1 in the fourth sentence of line 2, we changed the text for the
additional standard deduction to “XXX” as a placeholder. The real estate
tax deduction is scheduled to expire in 2009 but may be extended. The
new vehicle sales tax deduction is also scheduled to expire in 2009 but
may be extended. See IRS sections 63(c)(1)(C)-(E).

2. On page 2 just above Line 7 - Credits, we added a new topic, Additional
standard deduction.

2
TLS, have you
transmitted all R
text files for this
cycle update?

Date

Form

I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS
TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING
INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM W-4S, PAGE 1 of 2
MARGINS: TOP 13mm (1⁄ 2 "), CENTER SIDES. PRINTS: HEAD to HEAD
PAPER: WHITE WRITING, SUB. 20.
INK: BLACK
FLAT SIZE: 216mm (81⁄ 2 ") 3 279mm (11")
5
PERFORATE: 94.25mm (3 ⁄ 8 ") FROM TOP
DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

W-4S

Action

Date

O.K. to print
Revised proofs
requested

Request for Federal Income Tax
Withholding From Sick Pay

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

©

Type or print your first name and middle initial.

Home address (number and street or rural route)

City or town, state, and ZIP code

Claim or identification number (if any)

OMB No. 1545-0074

2010

f
o
s
a
9
t
0
f
0
a
2
r
/
D /28
5
0

Give this form to the third-party payer of your sick pay.

Your social security number

Last name

I request federal income tax withholding from my sick pay payments. I want the following amount to be withheld from
each payment. (See Worksheet below.)

Employee’s signature

©

Signature

Date

$

©

Cut here and give the top part of this form to the payer. Keep the lower part for your records.

Worksheet (Keep for your records. Do not send to the Internal Revenue Service.)
1

Enter amount of adjusted gross income that you expect in 2010

1

2

If you plan to itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040), enter the estimated total of your deductions.
For 2010, you may have to reduce your itemized deductions if your income is over $XXX,XXX
($XX,XXX if married filing separately). See Pub. 919, How Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding, for details. Call
1-800-829-3676 or visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov to order forms and publications. If you do not plan
to itemize deductions, enter the standard deduction, including additional amounts for age and blindness, and
any additional standard deduction for XXX or a disaster loss

2

3

Subtract line 2 from line 1

3

4

Exemptions. Multiply $X,XXX by the number of personal exemptions. For 2010, your personal exemption(s)
amount is reduced if your income is over $XXX,XXX if single, $XXX,XXX if married filing jointly or qualifying
widow(er), $XXX,XXX if married filing separately, or $XXX,XXX if head of household. See Pub. 919 for details

4

5

Subtract line 4 from line 3

5

6

Tax. Figure your tax on line 5 by using the 2010 Tax Rate Schedule X, Y, or Z on page 2. Do not use the Tax
Table or Tax Rate Schedule X, Y, or Z in the 2009 Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ instructions

6

7

Credits (child tax and higher education credits, credit for child and dependent care expenses, etc.)

7

8

Subtract line 7 from line 6

8

9

Estimated federal income tax withheld and to be withheld from other sources (including amounts withheld
due to a prior Form W-4S) during 2010 or paid with Form 1040-ES

9

10

Subtract line 9 from line 8

10

11

Enter the number of sick pay payments you expect to receive this year to which this Form W-4S will apply

11

12

Divide line 10 by line 11. Round to the nearest dollar. This is the amount that should be withheld from each
sick pay payment. Be sure it meets the requirements for the amount that should be withheld, as explained
under Amount to be withheld below. If it does, enter this amount on Form W-4S above

12

General Instructions
Purpose of form. Give this form to the third-party payer of your sick
pay, such as an insurance company, if you want federal income tax
withheld from the payments. You are not required to have federal
income tax withheld from sick pay paid by a third party. However, if
you choose to request such withholding, Internal Revenue Code
sections 3402(o) and 6109 and their regulations require you to
provide the information requested on this form. Do not use this form
if your employer (or its agent) makes the payments because
employers are already required to withhold federal income tax from
sick pay.
Note. If you receive sick pay under a collective bargaining
agreement, see your union representative or employer.
Definition. Sick pay is a payment that you receive:
● Under a plan to which your employer is a party and
● In place of wages for any period when you are temporarily
absent from work because of your sickness or injury.
Amount to be withheld. Enter on this form the amount that you
want withheld from each payment. The amount that you enter:
For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see page 2.

● Must be in whole dollars (for example, $35, not $34.50).
● Must be at least $4 per day, $20 per week, or $88 per month
based on your payroll period.
● Must not reduce the net amount of each sick pay payment that
you receive to less than $10.
For payments larger or smaller than a regular full payment of sick
pay, the amount withheld will be in the same proportion as your
regular withholding from sick pay. For example, if your regular full
payment of $100 a week normally has $25 (25%) withheld, then $20
(25%) will be withheld from a partial payment of $80.
Caution. You may be subject to a penalty if your tax payments
during the year are not at least 90% of the tax shown on your tax
return. For exceptions and details, see Pub. 505, Tax Withholding
and Estimated Tax. You may pay tax during the year through
withholding or estimated tax payments or both. To avoid a penalty,
make sure that you have enough tax withheld or make estimated tax
payments using Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals. You
may estimate your federal income tax liability by using the worksheet
above.
(continued on back)
Cat. No. 10226E

Form

W-4S

(2010)

2
I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS
TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING
INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM W-4S, PAGE 2 of 2
MARGINS: TOP 13mm (1⁄ 2 "), CENTER SIDES. PRINTS: HEAD to HEAD
PAPER: WHITE WRITING, SUB. 20.
INK: BLACK
FLAT SIZE: 216mm (81⁄ 2 ") 3 279mm (11")
5
PERFORATE: 94.25mm (3 ⁄ 8 ") FROM TOP.
DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

Form W-4S (2010)

Page

Sign this form. Form W-4S is not valid unless you sign it.

2

next paragraph. If you can be claimed as a dependent on another
person’s return, see Limited standard deduction for dependents
below.

f
o
s
a
9
t
0
f
0
a
2
r
/
D /28
5
0

Statement of income tax withheld. After the end of the year, you
will receive a Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, reporting the
taxable sick pay paid and federal income tax withheld during the
year. These amounts are reported to the Internal Revenue Service.
Changing your withholding. Form W-4S remains in effect until you
change or revoke it. You may do this by giving a new Form W-4S or
a written notice to the payer of your sick pay. To revoke your
previous Form W-4S, complete a new Form W-4S and write
“Revoked” in the money amount box, sign it, and give it to the
payer.

Specific Instructions for Worksheet

You may use the worksheet on page 1 to estimate the amount of
federal income tax that you want withheld from each sick pay
payment. Use your tax return for last year and the worksheet as a
basis for estimating your tax, tax credits, and withholding for this
year.
You may not want to use Form W-4S if you already have your total
tax covered by estimated tax payments or other withholding.
If you expect to file a joint return, be sure to include the income,
deductions, credits, and payments of both yourself and your spouse
in figuring the amount you want withheld.
Caution. If any of the amounts on the worksheet change after you
give Form W-4S to the payer, you should use a new Form W-4S to
request a change in the amount withheld.

Line 2—Deductions

Itemized deductions. You may have to reduce your itemized
deductions if your income is over $XXX,XXX ($XX,XXX if married filing
separately). See Pub. 919 for details.
Standard deduction. For 2010, the standard deduction amounts
are:
Standard
Filing Status
Deduction
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)

$XX,XXX*

Head of household

$X,XXX*

Single or Married filing separately

$X,XXX*

*If you are age 65 or older or blind, add to the standard deduction
amount the additional amount that applies to you as shown in the

Additional amount for the elderly or blind. An additional
standard deduction of $X,XXX is allowed for a married individual
(filing jointly or separately) or qualifying widow(er) who is 65 or older
or blind, $X,XXX if 65 or older and blind. If both spouses are 65 or
older or blind, an additional $X,XXX is allowed on a joint return
($X,XXX on a separate return if you can claim an exemption for your
spouse). If both spouses are 65 or older and blind, an additional
$X,XXX is allowed on a joint return ($X,XXX on a separate return if
you can claim an exemption for your spouse). An additional $X,XXX
is allowed for an unmarried individual (single or head of household)
who is 65 or older or blind, $X,XXX if 65 or older and blind.
Limited standard deduction for dependents. If you can be
claimed as a dependent on another person’s return, your standard
deduction is the greater of (a) $XXX or (b) your earned income plus
$XXX (up to the regular standard deduction for your filing status). If
you are 65 or older or blind, see Pub. 505 for additional amounts
that you may claim.
Certain individuals not eligible for standard deduction. For the
following individuals, the standard deduction is zero.
● A married individual filing a separate return if either spouse
itemizes deductions.
● A nonresident alien individual.
● An individual filing a return for a period of less than 12 months
because of a change in his or her annual accounting period.
Additional standard deduction. You may increase the standard
deduction described above by any XXX or disaster loss deduction.
See Pub. 919 for details.

Line 7—Credits
Include on this line any tax credits that you are entitled to claim,
such as the child tax and higher education credits, credit for child
and dependent care expenses, earned income credit, or credit for
the elderly or the disabled.

Line 9—Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
Enter the federal income tax that you expect will be withheld this
year on income other than sick pay and any payments that you
made using Form 1040-ES. Include any federal income tax withheld
and to be withheld from wages and pensions.

2010 Tax Rate Schedules
Schedule X—Single
If line 5 is:
Over—

$0
X,XXX
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

Schedule Z—Head of household
The tax is:

But not
over—

$X,XXX
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX
and greater

$0
$XXX.XX
X,XXX.XX
XX,XXX.XX
XX,XXX.XX
XXX,XXX.XX

+
+
+
+
+
+

10%
15%
25%
28%
33%
35%

of the
amount
over—

$0
X,XXX
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

If line 5 is:
Over—

$0
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

The tax is:
But not
over—

$XX,XXX
$0
XX,XXX $X,XXX.XX
XXX,XXX
X,XXX.XX
XXX,XXX XX,XXX.XX
XXX,XXX XX,XXX.XX
and greater XXX,XXX.XX

+
+
+
+
+
+

10%
15%
25%
28%
33%
35%

of the
amount
over—

$0
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

Schedule Y-1—Married filing jointly or Qualifying widow(er)

Schedule Y-2—Married filing separately

If line 5 is:

If line 5 is:

Over—

$0
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

But not
over—

The tax is:

$XX,XXX
$0
XX,XXX $X,XXX.XX
XXX,XXX
X,XXX.XX
XXX,XXX XX,XXX.XX
XXX,XXX XX,XXX.XX
and greater XXX,XXX.XX

+
+
+
+
+
+

10%
15%
25%
28%
33%
35%

of the
amount
over—

$0
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information on
this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United States.
You are not required to provide the information requested on a
form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form
displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a
form or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents
may become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue

Over—

$0
X,XXX
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

But not
over—

$X,XXX
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX
and greater

The tax is:

$0
$XXX.XX
X,XXX.XX
XX,XXX.XX
XX,XXX.XX
XX,XXX.XX

+
+
+
+
+
+

10%
15%
25%
28%
33%
35%

of the
amount
over—

$0
X,XXX
XX,XXX
XX,XXX
XXX,XXX
XXX,XXX

law. Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential, as
required by Code section 6103.
The average time and expenses required to complete and file this
form will vary depending on individual circumstances. For estimated
averages, see the instructions for your income tax return.
If you have suggestions for making this form simpler, we would be
happy to hear from you. See the instructions for your income tax
return.

Printed on recycled paper