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New Member
posted Nov 30, 2020 2:42:19 PM

Got a notice from IRS saying that my employer for a "lock-in letter", I already had SINGLE status, 1 allowance, 0 deductions on W4, what do I do?

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3 Replies
Level 15
Nov 30, 2020 2:46:42 PM
Level 15
Nov 30, 2020 6:08:58 PM

"saying that my employer for a 'lock-in letter'"


There are some words missing in that sentence, so it's not clear what the notice says, what the status is, or where you are in the process. If the notice that you got is telling you to submit a new W-4 to your employer, go ahead and do that. The new W-4 form for 2020 and later does not use allowances. Use the Tax Withholding Estimator on the IRS web site to figure out what to put on the new W-4. When you get your first paycheck based on the new W-4, double check to make sure that your employer entered the new W-4 information correctly.


If the IRS already issued a lock-in letter, call the number that the IRS gave you.

 

Level 15
Nov 30, 2020 6:17:00 PM

What happened basically is you owe the IRS for quite some time and each year you owe again so the IRS will not allow you to have an allowances/deductions on your paycheck any longer.  The W-4 must have the SINGLE box clicked and nothing else filled in on the form with the exception of line 4 where you can have extra withheld.  If this will not catch you up then the next thing the IRS will do is put a lien on your wages and/or properties or retirement accounts.