Do we only keep the most recent forms?

jburmeister

Hi there! I've been reading the forum for almost a year now just to learn, learn, learn since I'm new to HR...this is my first time posting a question!

Anyway, my question is this - when an employee updates his/her W-4 form, do you keep a copy of that updated form in his/her file, or do you keep all of them? I'm assuming you just keep the most recent.

My other question is somewhat similar except it pertains to an "Automatic Deposit Form". Would we just keep the most recent form?

Thanks in advance for any advice - thanks!

Sandy

I keep them all. The amount of times these get changed has not cause a filing room problem and allows us to be able to "look back" at what was changed when. I have also been able to pull past information on behalf of the employee when they request info.

Human Resources Manager

It is always best to hold on to past forms. Then if there is a pattern of change, it can be easily demonstrated. I used to work with a husband/wife who frequently changed their withholding to allow for more take-home pay when they needed it. However, at the end of the year, when they found that they owed money to the IRS (because their withholding was insufficient) they "didn't remember" changing their withholding so much and it must have been a "payroll error". It was helpful to be able to pull the relevant W-4s from their files.

Cinderella

Keep 'em all even after the ee is no longer there. You can never be too careful (especially when it comes to payroll type documents such as W-4's and direct deposit forms).
Cinderella

jburmeister

Thanks for all the responses - I guess it's unanimous! I will keep all the W-4 and Automatic Deposit forms from now on.

8-} Happy Friday, all!


"HR Baby"
Jen Burmeister
HR Specialist
NBPTS
[email]jburmeister@nbpts.org[/email]