Human Resources - Payroll Management

There may be valid reasons for changing your withholding allowances several times a year. If you submit four or more changes in a calendar year, the Kingsborough Human Resources Office is required to send your tax withholding forms to the New York City Office of Payroll Administration (OPA) which will then forward them to the IRS or NY State Department of Taxation and Finance for review.

Federal and State tax witholding forms may be obtained from the Human Resources Office (Room A-201). You may also download them from the Internet, web addresses as follows:

Federal Tax Withholding Forms: www.ustreas.gov
State Tax Withholding Forms: www.tax.state.ny.us

You may file withholding certificates with as many allowances as are justified by your circumstances. If you claim more than ten withholding allowances on the federal W-4 form or more than 14 allowances on the state IT-2104 form, you must complete a Withholding Certificate Affirmation.

You can obtain a Withholding Certificate Affirmation from the Human Resources Office. This form must be completed by you and then notarized. In addition to the Withholding Certificate Affirmation you may, if you wish, supply supporting documentation. This may consist of the prior year's tax returns, proof of qualifying home mortgage interest, charitable contributions, state and local taxes (but not sales tax), medical expenses as stipulated in IRS guidelines, number of dependents, other qualifying miscellaneous deductions, or a letter from you to the agency stating your circumstances.

Copies of the unaltered withholding certificate and signed, unaltered affirmation, along with copies of any supporting documentation you choose to provide, will be sent to OPA. OPA forwards the documents to the IRS or NYS Dept of Taxation and Finance. In some cases, the IRS or NYS may instruct the City of New York to change your number of withholding allowances or marital status through Lock-in Letters.

The vast majority of employees of the City of New York are required to have taxes withheld; however, certain situations exist that entitle an employee to be tax exempt (federal tax exempt, NY State tax exempt, or both). No employees, including students, are automatically exempt from tax liability. To claim exempt status, you must meet certain conditions and submit a new tax withholding certificate and signed Withholding Certificate Affirmation each calendar year. You cannot claim exemption from federal withholding taxes for 2006:

If your income exceeds $850 and includes more than $300 of unearned income (e.g., interest and dividends) AND another person can claim you as a dependent on his or her tax return.

If you are exempt from federal withholding taxes you must certify on the W-4 form that you meet both of the following conditions:

Last year you had a right to a refund of ALL federal income tax withholding because you had no tax liability AND this year you expect a refund of ALL federal income tax withheld because you expect to have no tax liability.

To claim exemption from New York State and City withholding taxes in 2006, you must be able to certify the following conditions in writing:

You are under age 18 OR a full-time student under age 25, OR over age 65.
You had no New York income tax liability for 2005 AND
You do not expect to have a New York tax liability in 2006.

If you meet the criteria for state exemption, you would file an IT-2104-E Certificate of Exemption from Withholding instead of the IT-2104 form.

Forms claiming full exemption from withholding expire each year. If your exempt status continues, you need to submit new forms annually. You must file a new W-4 form by February 16 to continue to claim full exemption from federal taxes and/or a new IT-2104-E form by April 30 to continue to claim full exemption from state and local taxes. You must submit the Withholding Certificate Affirmation with your withholding certificate each year.

If you do not submit new forms to your agency to continue to claim full exemption, taxes will be withheld as if you were single with zero allowances until new acceptable forms are submitted.

Earned Income Credit (EIC) is a tax credit for certain employees who have a qualifying child living with them and expect to earn less than $32,001 (or $34,001 if married filing jointly) in 2006. These employees may choose to receive up to $1,648.00 of the basic credit in advance with their regular paychecks instead of waiting until they file their 2006 Federal income tax return. However, the amount received in advance is limited to the basic earned income credit amount for families with one qualifying child. Employees who are eligible for the larger credit have to wait until they file their tax returns to get the benefit of those extra credit amounts.

To make the Advance Earned Income Credit (EIC) program more accessible to New York City employees, the City's Payroll Management System can be used to automatically provide EIC payments with an employee's bi-weekly paycheck. An employee may be able to claim the Advance Earned Income Credit for 2006 if he/she works and meets all of the following requirements:

employee expects that 2006 earned income and adjusted gross income will be less than $34,001.00 (including spouse's income if employee expects to file a joint return);
employee has a qualifying child living with him/her;
employee expects to be able to claim the EIC for 2006;

If you think you qualify and wish to claim the Advance EIC for 2006, you may obtain the IRS form W-5 from the Office of Human Resources in Room A-201. Carefully read the instructions for the IRS form W-5, complete the form and submit it to the Office of Human Resources for implementation on the payroll system. Note that the W-5 certificate is effective for the current calendar year only. A new W-5 form must be submitted each calendar year in order to continue to participate in the Advance EIC program.

If your situation changes after you give Form W-5 to your employer, it will probably be necessary for you to file a new W-5. You should file a new W-5 if you no longer have a qualifying child, you no longer expect to be able to claim EIC this year, you no longer want advance payments, or your spouse files a W-5 with his or her employer.

If you would like more information on the EIC, you may call the IRS toll-free at 1-800-829-3676 and order IRS Publication 596, Earned Income Credit. The W-5 Form may also be obtained at http://www.ustreas.gov/