To change your state tax withholding in ADP, log into the employee portal at my.adp.com, open Pay, find the Tax Withholding tile, click the arrow next to your state and choose Edit Withholding, complete the two-factor verification, enter your new filing status and allowances (plus any extra dollar amount you want held back), then sign and submit. The update generally shows up on your next full pay cycle.
The Steps Inside ADP
The exact screen labels shift depending on whether your employer runs ADP Workforce Now, MyADP, or RUN Powered by ADP, but the path is consistent.
- Sign in at my.adp.com or your employer’s ADP URL.
- Open Pay from the dashboard shortcut or the menu icon in the top-left corner.
- On the Tax Withholding tile you’ll see a Federal row and a row for your current state. Click the arrow next to the state row, then Edit Withholding.
- Enter the verification code ADP sends to your phone or email. This step runs every time you touch tax settings.
- Work through the guided screens. They mirror your state’s withholding form, so the questions asked depend on which state you’re in. Enter filing status, allowances or exemptions, and any additional per-paycheck withholding.
- Review the summary, sign electronically, and submit. Screenshot or save the confirmation page with its date. If something goes sideways later, that timestamp is what payroll will ask for.
If you live or work in a jurisdiction with local income tax, such as certain counties in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania, ADP may push you through a second form for the local withholding after the state one. Complete it in the same session. Skipping it means owing at the local level when you file.
What to Have Ready Before You Log In
ADP is the input screen, not a calculator. It won’t figure out your allowances or filing status for you, and the field labels will match your state’s form rather than the current federal Form W-4, which dropped allowances in 2020.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate Many states still use allowances, so the screens can look nothing like your federal W-4.
Pin down three things first:
- Your state filing status. It won’t necessarily match your federal status. Some states define head of household or married filing separately differently than the IRS does, so check your state tax authority’s page rather than IRS instructions.
- Your allowances or exemptions. Most states tie these to dependents, but the value of each allowance varies. Some states subtract a flat dollar amount per allowance, others apply a percentage credit.
- Any extra flat-dollar withholding you want per paycheck. If you’re trying to shrink a year-end bill or cover side income, pick a specific number before you sit down (say, $50 per pay period), because ADP will just ask for the figure.
If a life change is driving the update, such as marriage, a new dependent, or a second job, run the numbers before you submit. The earlier in the year you adjust, the more paychecks there are to absorb the correction, and the smaller the per-check swing.2Taxpayer Advocate Service. Adjust Your Withholding to Ensure There’s No Surprises on Tax Day
One boundary worth mentioning: nine states don’t tax wages at all (Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming). If you live and work in one of them, there’s nothing to change, and no state line will appear on your stub.
When the Portal Won’t Let You Edit
Not every employer turns on self-service tax changes. If you reach the Tax Withholding section and there’s no Edit button, or you hit an error, your company has likely locked those screens. Ask payroll how they process state withholding updates. They’ll usually send you a PDF or paper version of your state’s form to complete, then key the change into ADP from the employer side.
Even with self-service enabled, certain changes still need payroll. Adding a state you’ve never had withholding for often can’t be done through the employee portal alone, because it also requires updating your work location record, which is an employer-side setting. Loop payroll in early if that’s your situation.
If You Moved or Work in a Different State
After a relocation, two things have to change in ADP: your work location (handled by HR or payroll) and your resident-state withholding form (handled by you). If only one gets updated, your stub will be wrong. You’ll either keep getting withheld for the old state or the system won’t know which state form to apply. Coordinate both with payroll in the same conversation.
Failing to update work location after a move is one of the most common post-relocation payroll errors. Recovering money that was over-withheld to your old state means filing a nonresident return there, and that refund can take months.
If you live in one state and work in another, the default is that your employer withholds for the state where you physically perform the work. Your home state usually credits you for tax paid to the work state so you’re not taxed twice, though if the work state’s rate is higher, you effectively pay the higher rate. Remote arrangements complicate this: withholding generally follows where you actually sit, but a handful of states apply “convenience of the employer” rules that tax based on the employer’s location instead. If your remote setup is informal or your work location in ADP hasn’t been formally changed, that mismatch can quietly cost you.
Reciprocity Agreements
About 16 states and the District of Columbia participate in roughly 30 reciprocity agreements that let cross-border commuters owe tax only to their home state. To use one, you file an exemption form with your employer, and they stop withholding for the work state. A Pennsylvania resident working in New Jersey files Form NJ-165. A New Jersey resident working in Pennsylvania files Form REV-419. The exemption applies to wages, not self-employment or investment income.
Employers don’t apply reciprocity on their own. If you skip the exemption form, they’re required to withhold for the work state, and you’ll have to file a nonresident return there to claim it back. Submitting the form through ADP (or handing it to payroll) is what actually stops the withholding.
Confirming the Change Landed
Give it one full pay cycle. If you submitted right after a payroll cutoff, the change may not appear until the check after next. That’s normal.
To check, open your latest pay statement under Pay or Pay Statements in ADP and find the line with your state abbreviation, such as “CA Withholding” or “NY State Tax.” More allowances should mean a smaller amount withheld. Extra withholding should show up as a bigger amount. If two full pay cycles go by and nothing has moved, send your confirmation date and screenshot to payroll. A stuck change almost always needs a fix on the employer’s side of ADP rather than yours.