State and local withholding certificates

How Gusto handles the Federal Form W-4

We automatically generate and store the most recent Federal W-4 form (elections) with the withholding elections made by each employee.

How Gusto handles state and local withholding forms—for income tax

Different from the Federal Form W-4, employers are required to have their new employees physically sign the state and local version of the Form W-4 outside of Gusto, and to store it for your records.

Heads up: Some states may have special requirements such as collecting forms annually (e.g., some Indiana counties do this), or require special forms for military spouses or non-residents. Check with the state website for more information.

Employees, as well as admins, can still enter or change the state and local withholding elections in their Gusto account, but the physical forms must be signed and stored manually.

If an employee requests a change to their state or local withholding:

Have your employee physically re-sign the state/local version of the Form W-4, and store the new document for your records.
Have your employees update their state W-4 (withholding elections) in Gusto.
- They can do so by clicking the My profile section of their employee account and selecting Taxes, scrolling to the "[State] Taxes" headline, and clicking edit.
- As an admin, you can update an employee's withholding elections by visiting their employee profile, scrolling to the "[State] Taxes" headline of the Taxes tab, and clicking edit.

States that do not require state withholding certificates (because they do not have income tax)

Alaska
Florida
Nevada
New Hampshire
Tennessee
Texas
South Dakota
Washington
Wyoming

States that use the Federal W-4

These states use the Federal W-4 to calculate state withholding taxes.

Colorado
New Mexico
North Dakota
Utah

States where employees need a separate state-specific withholding form—includes the form

The following states require you to collect and store a separate state-specific withholding form for each of your employees.

As a reminder, Gusto cannot advise on personal withholding elections—if an employee needs personal tax advice, they should consult a CPA or licensed tax advisor.

State	Withholding Certificate(s)
Alabama	Form A-4, Employee’s Withholding Tax Exemption Certificate
Arizona	Arizona Form A-4, Employee’s Arizona Withholding Election
Arkansas	Form AR4EC, State of Arkansas Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
California	Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
Colorado	Form DR004, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Connecticut	Form CT-W4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Delaware	Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Georgia	Form G-4, State of Georgia Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
Hawaii	Form HW-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance and Status Certificate
Idaho	Form ID W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
Illinois	Form IL-W-4, Employee’s and other Payee’s Illinois Withholding Allowance Certificate and Instructions
Indiana	Form WH-4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption and County Status Certificate; more information about the form can be found in this article.
Iowa	Form IA W-4, Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate
Kansas	Form K-4, Kansas Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
Kentucky	Form K-4, Kentucky Withholding Certificate
Louisiana	Form L-4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Maine	Form W-4ME, Maine Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate Scroll and click on the Employment Taxes section to find the current year’s Form W-4ME.
Maryland	Form MW507, Employee’s Maryland Withholding Exemption Certificate
Massachusetts	Form M-4, Massachusetts Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Michigan (state)	State: Form MI-W4, Employee’s Michigan Withholding Exemption Certificate Locals: Varies by city
Minnesota	Form W-4MN, Minnesota Employee Withholding Allowance/Exemption Certificate
Mississippi	Form 89-350, Mississippi Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Missouri	Form MO W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Montana	Form MW-4, Montana Employee’s Withholding Allowance and Exemption Certificate
Nebraska	Form W-4N, Employee’s Nebraska Withholding Allowance Certificate
New Jersey	Form NJ-W4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
New Mexico	For New Mexico withholding tax, you should use a federal W-4 and write across the top of that form: “For New Mexico Withholding Tax Only.”
New York	Form IT-2104, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
North Carolina	Form NC-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
North Dakota	Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Ohio	Form IT 4, Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Oklahoma	Form OK-W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
Oregon	Form OR-W-4, Oregon Employee’s Withholding Statement and Exemption Certificate
Pennsylvania	State: n/a - state assesses a flat income tax rate Locals: Residency Certification Form Local Earned Income Tax Withholding
Rhode Island	RI W-4, State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
South Carolina	SC W-4, South Carolina Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
Utah	Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Vermont	Form W-4VT, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate
Virginia	Form VA-4, Employee’s Virginia Income Tax Withholding Exemption Certificate
Washington D.C.	Form D-4, DC Withholding Allowance Certificate
West Virginia	Form WV/IT-104, West Virginia Employee’s Withholding Exemption Certificate
Wisconsin	Form WT-4, Employee’s Wisconsin Withholding Exemption Certificate/New Hire Reporting