New W-4 for 2021? TiM’s Got That for your Crew.

2021 is right around the corner (yay!), and for all the good news and light we hope it brings, one thing we know is coming: a new W-4 for production crews. But not to worry: after the massive change to the W-4 for crew members in 2020, the 2021 version is a walk in the park.

The new W-4 keeps the same basic withholding format as the 2020 version, so onboarding your crew with digital startwork from TiM should feel the same for you and your crew members. In fact, we'll update the W-4 in your TiM templates prior to the ball drop on New Year's Eve, so all new crew start packets will incorporate it as of January 1 – you don't need to do a thing.

For the most part, there's nothing new for crew to do either. 2020 W-4s will carry over to the new year on an ongoing job, since the crew's startwork is already in. Only exception is if they claimed "Exempt" (no tax withholdings) on their 2020 W-4, and want to continue that – see below.

Crew will need to submit a new 2021 W-4 for the production payroll service only if:

1. They are hired on a new crew gig on or after January 1
2. They claimed "Exempt" in 2020 and want to claim Exempt again in 2021
   • If an employee requests to submit a new or revised W-4 via TiM, production can share that form via a Special Packet (instructions here). 

Starting January 1, we'll notify all TiM crew users about the new 2021 W-4 at login and suggest they review their stored default W-4 info. We'll also remind them that updating their W-4 info in TiM will only be reflected on their crew startwork going forward, and that TiM does not automatically inform production company employers or film payroll companies if changes are made to W-4 answers stored in TiM.

For a complete guide to the W-4 for production crews in TiM, visit the W-4 Help section of the TiM Help Center.