To: University Business Managers, Student/HR originators
From: Walter Miller, Director of Payroll Services
As fall hiring season is not far away, this is a reminder that new employees (including student employees) will need to act if they want to change their tax withholding from the default status. Verifying their state and federal tax withholding allowances should be done online using the Connect Carolina SelfService menu. Please advise them of the information below.
Upon hire, the federal and state tax withholding for all new employees is set to marital status = Single and number of personal allowances = 0 (zero). If an employee wants to claim Single and 0 (zero) for both federal and state tax allowances, the employee does not need to do anything. If the employee wants to claim something other than Single and 0 (zero), the employee will need to make the change online by accessing the employee’s federal and state of North Carolina income tax withholding forms (W-4 and NC-4 forms) through SelfService after the individual has ConnectCarolina access.
Exemptions and Exceptions
In certain cases, individuals may also claim exemption from tax withholding. Employees must carefully read the conditions for exemption on the SelfService page and must meet both conditions to claim exempt status. Employees who work outside of the state of North Carolina or are classified as Nonresident Alien employees are not able to utilize the ConnectCarolina online tax form functionality. These employees must complete the paper W-4 form and the appropriate state’s withholding form and mail them to Payroll Services. These forms contain sensitive data and should never be emailed.
How to View or Update Employee Tax Forms
Step-by-step instructions and user tips for how an employee can find the W-4 and NC-4 forms can be found on the ConnectCarolina User website, Online Employee Tax Forms web page.
Individuals who need technical assistance viewing or updating their personal W-4 or NC-4 forms should contact the Help Desk at 962-HELP. Individuals should contact Payroll Services at payroll@unc.edu if they are unable to update their W-4 or NC-4 after working with the Help Desk.
Why use Online Tax Withholding Forms?
The online method improves the security of confidential employee information and decreases any errors that could result from manual tax data entry. In addition, using the online option allows employees to almost instantaneously update their W-4 and NC-4 forms and receive an email confirming any changes.