Can an employer take out taxes if a W-4 was never filed?
Yes, an employer can. Employers should ask all employees to submit a signed Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, when they start work. It should be effective the first pay period. If the employee does not submit a Form W-4, the employer should withhold as if the employee were single claiming no allowances. An employee may submit a Form W-4 at any time. The employer should base the employee’s income tax withholding on the most recently submitted Form W-4, unless the IRS has notified the employer to withhold based on a different number of allowances, or unless the Form W-4 is invalid. If an employee submits a new valid Form W-4, the employer should start withholding based on that Form W-4 no later than the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the 30th day from the day the new Form W-4 is submitted.
